Fastball

Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves Aces Working to Do Something Never Done in History

Tarik Skubal and Chris Sale are trying to accomplish something that's never been done in baseball's rich history.

Brady Farkas

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale (51) throws against the Colorado Rockies in the first inning at Truist Park on Sept. 3.
Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale (51) throws against the Colorado Rockies in the first inning at Truist Park on Sept. 3. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers and Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves are individually working on Cy Young seasons.

As a tandem, they are working on creating some unique baseball history.

Per @OptaSTATS:

Tarik Skubal of the @Tigers leads the AL in wins (16), ERA (2.51) and strikeouts (201).

Chris Sale of the @Braves leads the NL in wins (16), ERA (2.46) and strikeouts (206).

There has never been a season where a left-handed pitcher won the Triple Crown in both the AL and NL.

Sale earned the win on Tuesday as the Braves beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-2. He went 6.0 innings, giving up no runs and striking out nine. He's now 16-3 on the season with a 2.46 ERA. He's fanned those 206 batters in 160.2 innings. It's been amazing what Sale has done in his first fully healthy season since 2018.

With the dominant outing, Sale also became the first Braves' lefty to reach the 200-strikeout plateau in a season.

As for Skubal, he's 16-4 on the year with a 2.51 ERA. He's struck out his 201 batters in 168.1 innings. He was named an All-Star this season. In his fifth season in the big leagues, he's 39-31 with a 3.45 ERA.

The Braves are 75-63 on the season. They maintain a lead for the third wild card spot in the National League over the New York Mets.

The Tigers are 70-69 this season. They are currently 4.5 games behind the Kansas City Royals for the third and final wild card spot in the American League. They'll take on the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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