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Former Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox Ace Makes History in First Year with Braves

Chris Sale, who is set to win the National League Cy Young, just made some incredible baseball history.

Brady Farkas

Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale (51) pitches against Washington Nationals during the third inning at Truist Park on Aug 23.
Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale (51) pitches against Washington Nationals during the third inning at Truist Park on Aug 23. / Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
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Former Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox ace pitcher Chris Sale made history in his first season with the Atlanta Braves this year.

According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

Chris Sale has now led his league in strikeouts with the Braves, Red Sox & White Sox

He joins Nolan Ryan (CAL, HOU, TEX) as the only pitchers to lead their league in strikeouts with 3 different teams

One of the best lefties of his generation, Sale enjoyed a full year of health for the first time since 2018 this season. After an offseason trade to Atlanta, he went 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA. Though he's come close to winning a Cy Young Award before, this will be his first victory.

An All-Star this year, Sale had 225 strikeouts, second only to Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers in all of baseball.

In his 14th season in the majors, Sale is 138-83 with a 3.04 lifetime ERA. He debuted with the White Sox in the 2010 season, staying there until 2016. He was traded to the Red Sox in 2017, helping them win the World Series in 2018 and get to the ALCS in 2021, though he only made nine starts that year.

The Braves enter play on Monday at 88-72 on the year. They need to win one of two games against the New York Mets in order to make the playoffs. First pitch of the crucial doubleheader is set for 1:10 p.m. ET.

Sale would pitch game two if the Braves need a victory.

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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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