Chris Sale dominated the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night, allowing just one run and striking out six over six innings. His performance helped the Atlanta Braves secure a commanding 10-1 victory and earned him his league-leading 17th win of the season.
Shohei Ohtani, who had a strikeout and a walk, continues to struggle in his quest to become the first MLB player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season. After hitting his 47th home run on Wednesday against the Cubs, Ohtani is now 0-for-6 in his last two games and has 48 steals.
Sale acknowledged Ohtani’s talent, saying, “He’s a special player. When he makes contact, it’s tough. I’m just trying to throw pitches that will get swings and misses right from the start.”
With this win, Sale (17-3) has maintained an impressive record, having not lost since June 27. He also set a Braves franchise record for consecutive starts with no more than two earned runs, surpassing Greg Maddux’s previous record of 16. Sale leads the National League in strikeouts this season with 219.
The Braves are now 14 games above .500, a season-high, and have tied with the Mets for the final NL wild-card spot, as the Mets fell to the Phillies 6-4 on Saturday.
Sale remarked on the significance of the series, “These last couple of nights are what we’ve expected from ourselves. We knew the importance of these games, and we’ve performed well.”
Atlanta’s offense exploded in the sixth inning, scoring six runs with a bases-loaded double from Matt Olson and RBIs from Whit Merrifield and Michael Harris II. Olson also started the scoring in the first inning with an RBI double that drove in Harris. Olson finished the game with four RBIs on 2-of-4 hitting.
Braves manager Brian Snitker expressed optimism, stating, “When we hit like this, we’re capable of great things. I’m cautiously optimistic we’ll go on a run, as we’re getting contributions from everyone.”