Atlanta Braves ace left-hander Chris Sale will not start Game 2 of the NLDS on Sunday, the team announced. Sale made four outs and sent 21 pitches to shut out Game 3 of the Wild Card Series on Thursday.
“At the end of the day, we want the full strength of Chris Sale,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said ahead of Game 2. “I’m not sure you’re the best version to start today.”
Instead, lefty Ray Kerr, who pitched a heroic 3-inning inning as the opener in Game 3 against Philadelphia on Thursday, will open Game 2 on Sunday. Righty Grant Holmes seems likely to follow Kerr again as a big reliever. He threw two innings and 28 pitches on Thursday. Game 2 will be Atlanta’s third straight bullpen game, for all intents and purposes.
The Braves typically give Sale, 37, extra rest between starts. Quiesz started just twice during the regular season, both times in April, and started just three of Atlanta’s 28 regular season games in that workload. Sale won the 2024 Cy Young award, but was not available for the postseason because the latter issue popped up late in the regular season.
The biggest question for each LDS matchup: Can the Yankees defense handle the Rays offense? When will Chris Sale pitch?
Mike Axis
Sale allowed three runs in 6 innings in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series on Tuesday. He cast 95 voices. Sale then came out of the bullpen for four outs in Game 3 on Thursday. The first time he took one day off was when he was a reliever with the Chicago White Sox in 2011. He also hasn’t had a three-day rest since the 2018 postseason.
The Braves came into the lineup with a small army of starting pitchers on the injured list. Their rotation is very tight at the moment. This team’s starting pitcher depth chart;
- LHP Chris Sale
RHP Spencer Schwellenbach(with elbow surgery)RHP Spencer Strider(with inflammation of the elbow)- RHP Tyler Mahle
- RHP Grant Holmes
RHP Reynaldo Lopez(with shoulder inflammation)RHP Bryce Elder(with knee surgery)LHP Martin Perez(When the back is inflamed)- RHP AJ Smith-Shawver
- RHP JR Ritchie
RHP Hurston Waldrep(with the hand of Tommy John)
Mahle suffered a minor abdominal injury warming up before Game 2 of the Wild Card Series, but started the game anyway, and allowed one run in seven innings. He cast 95 voices. Lefty Dylan Dodd started Game 1 of the NLDS as the opener, threw three scoreless innings, then followed Smith-Shawver as a relief reliever.
Another bullpen game was Atlanta’s only real option for Sale in Game 2. Mahle would be on short rest, and it wouldn’t even be possible for him to deal with the abdominal progeny. Besides Mahle on short rest, Kerr plus Holmes or Ritchie is the best the Braves can put out there on Sunday, given their available personnel.
Sales when the game couldn’t start 2 later in the series also has trickle down effects. Starting Game 2 would have allowed Sale to also start Game 5 in normal quiet if needed. After Game 3, Sale can now only start one game in the NLDS, though it may be another type of relief. And if Sale can’t start Game 3, then the Braves would be in major trouble.
The Los Angeles Dodgers won Game 1 of the NLDS (LA 5, ATL 3) thanks to homers from Teoscar Hernández (two-run), Kyle Tucker (two-run), and Max Muncy (single). Reigning trade deadline and two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal struck out seven batters in six one-run innings. Game 2 is Sunday night at Dodger Stadium.