The Atlanta Braves defeated the odds by securing a win at Dodgers Stadium without their ace on the mound before heading back to Atlanta.
Now, Chris Sale takes the mound on Tuesday with the home crowd in his corner. The 37-year-old Cy Young candidate is fully rested with one job in mind, shut down the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While many felt uncertain about the Braves plan to throw two bullpen games, things have fallen into place. And Sale makes his feelings about facing the Dodgers abundantly clear before getting set.
Chris Sale Not Thinking About the Past Before Facing Dodgers
In a press conference the day after the Atlanta Braves took Game 2, Chris Sale spoke to the media about how he feels about facing the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“Baseball is a crazy game where anything can change on a given day,” Sale said. ‘You want to have confidence not only in yourself but in your team. What you did yesterday means nothing in this game for today or tomorrow”
“Baseball is a crazy game where anything can change on a given day. You want to have confidence not only in yourself but in your team. What you did yesterday means nothing in this game for today or tomorrow”
Sale’s dominance was on full display in last start against Los Angeles. On August 27, Sale threw a complete game shutout with 11 strikeouts, five hits, and no walks allowed.
He has an all-time regular season record of 2-3 with a 4.30 ERA against the Dodgers.
Sale’s faced them twice in the postseason back when he played for the Boston Red Sox, then going on to win the World Series.
“Like you said, this is playoff baseball,” Sale continued. “That’s a [hell of a] team across the way. I’m just preparing for another grind. I’m preparing for another battle and just got to go leave it all on the field. However it shakes out, that’s how it shakes out.”
While Sale’s numbers this season are dominant, and the second-best ERA of his career, his career postseason numbers fare differently.
In 12 games, he has a 5.83 ERA, seven home runs given up, and 59 strikeouts.
Regardless of numbers, manager Walt Weiss has faith in his pitcher.
“We didn’t want to have a diminished Chris Sale twice,” Weiss said. “It didn’t make sense to us. And now? To us, it’s the best case scenario as we possibly can. Now, we have a fresh Chris Sale ready to go.”
Atlanta Braves Start Times For Games 3 & 4
The Braves return to Atlanta for Games 3 and 4, and the start times are set. Both games are scheduled for 6:00 P.M. EST.
They play Tuesday and Wednesday, and if necessary the Braves will head back to Los Angeles for Game 5.
Friday’s start time is TBD thus far.
The Braves have yet to determine a pitching plan for Game 4, it’s likely that they will continue their bullpen game strategy depending on how Game 3 plays out.
Braves’ Chris Sale Sends Clear Message to Los Angeles Dodgers Before Game 3