The Braves just won a series for the first time since 2021, and Chris Sale was the engine that made it happen. He didn’t wait for a formal invitation to pitch. He walked into manager Walt Weiss’s office and demanded the ball. That kind of grit is exactly what Atlanta needs to survive a best-of-five series against the defending champion Dodgers.
The Ace Who Said He Was Ready
Injuries have wrecked the rotation, leaving the team short on options. Yet Sale stepped up when it mattered most. According to MLB.com Braves, Weiss admitted he never planned to ask Sale to pitch, knowing the pitcher would say yes even if he was hurt. But Sale beat Weiss to the punch. “Literally as soon as I stepped in my office this afternoon, he was sitting in the chair across from my desk,” Weiss said. The lefty looked at his manager and simply stated, “I feel amazing.”
Sale didn’t just show up; he finished the job. He recorded the first 19 outs of the Wild Card series and then closed out the final four in the clincher. He became the first pitcher since himself in 2018 to start a series and finish it. Weiss called him a warrior and said, “This guy — I’ve run out of superlatives for Chris Sale. Been talking about him all year. He’s one of the best I’ve ever been around.” If Sale can stay healthy, the Braves have a shot.
The Mountain Called Yamamoto
Getting past the Phillies is one thing. Stopping the Dodgers is another beast entirely. The Braves beat them five times in six regular-season meetings, but the postseason changes everything. The Dodgers have a stacked rotation featuring Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow. Their likely Game 1 starter, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, is a proven big-game pitcher.
Yamamoto tossed consecutive complete games in last year’s NLCS and World Series. With no days of rest, he ended the winner-take-all Game 7. Last year he established a high standard, and this postseason he will surely attempt to keep elevating the bar. The Braves have no clear starter for Game 1. Grant Holmes or J.R. Ritchie might get the call, or maybe a lefty reliever will open. The odds are stacked against Atlanta.
One Shot at History
The series starts Saturday at 4 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium. Triple-digit heat is in the forecast for Los Angeles. The Braves need their offense to explode early. Michael Harris II, Matt Olson, and Drake Baldwin are the key bats against right-handed pitching. Baldwin hit a leadoff homer against Yamamoto in August, the only run in Atlanta’s 1-0 win that day.
