Fastball

National League Cy Young Favorite Moves Up Atlanta Braves History This Weekend

This weekend, Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale moved up a great list in team history with another dominant performance.

Brady Farkas

Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale (51) pitches the ball against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Truist Park on Sept 14.
Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale (51) pitches the ball against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Truist Park on Sept 14. / Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
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Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale moved up a great list in team history this weekend after another dominant performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In a 10-1 win on Saturday night, Sale went 6.0 innings, allowing just one run on five hits. He walked two and struck out six.

Per @StatsCentre on social media:

Most strikeouts - Season by a @Braves pitcher (since the franchise's 1966 move to Atlanta):
281- Spencer Strider (2023)
276- John Smoltz (1996)
262- Phil Niekro (1977)
248- Niekro (1978)
241- Smoltz (1997)
238- Javier Vazquez ('09)
219- Chris Sale (2024)
216- Charlie Morton ('21)

It's been an incredible bounce back year for Sale, who had struggled to stay healthy since 2019. After an offseason trade from the Boston Red Sox, Sale is now 17-3 with a 2.35 ERA. He's on track to win the National League Cy Young Award and leads the NL in strikeouts, wins and ERA. He's helped keep the Braves rotation afloat in the wake of a season-ending injury to Spencer Strider.

With his dominance serving as a major part of their success, Atlanta is 81-68 this season. They are tied for the third and final wild card spot in the National League with the New York Mets.

The Braves will take on the Los Angeles Dodgers again on Monday night. First pitch is set for 7:20 p.m. ET as Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitches against Max Fried.

As for Sale, he could be back on the mound again on Thursday against the Cincinnati Reds or on Friday against the Miami Marlins.

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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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