Chris Sale Posts Historically Dominant May Amid Atlanta Braves’ Struggles

The Atlanta Braves may have had a rough month, but the same can’t be said for Chris Sale.

The 35-year-old southpaw has been borderline untouchable in May, going a perfect 5-0 in his five starts. Three of his outings were scoreless and he allowed just one run in each of his other two appearances.

While Atlanta is undefeated when Sale takes the mound, they are just 7-14 in May when someone else gets the start. Overall, the Braves are 5-10 since May 15, losing three of their last four series.

The sale was therefore one of the few positives for the club over the last two weeks. He’s done more than just give Atlanta’s rotation some much-needed stability, producing at a historically dominant level.

According to Jayhay of Underdog Fantasy, Sale’s 0.56 ERA is the lowest of any pitcher in the month of May – minimum 25 innings pitched – since Tommy Greene’s 0.29 mark with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1991.

Sale’s numbers for May are final, as he is not expected to play in Friday’s series opener against the Oakland Athletics. He is expected to take the mound on Saturday, hoping to carry his momentum into June.

The Braves traded infielder Vaughn Grissom to acquire Sale from the Boston Red Sox in December.

Overall this season, Sale is 8-1 with a 2.12 ERA, 0.848 WHIP, 11.0 strikeouts per nine innings and a 2.4 WAR.

It’s been a bounce-back year for Sale, who dealt with numerous injuries and inconsistency with the Red Sox after signing a $145 million extension in 2019. Sale only pitched 298.1 innings between 2019 and 2023, posting a record of 17-18 and a rating of 4.16. ERA in this period.

Sale was previously on a fast track for Cooperstown, making seven straight All-Star appearances from 2012 to 2018. Although he never won a Cy Young during that span, he finished in the top six in all seven seasons leading up to his 30th birthday.

By the time he won the 2018 World Series with the Red Sox, Sale was 103-62 with a 2.89 ERA. He was an ace for the Chicago Red Sox and White Sox, establishing himself as one of the best lefties of the 21st century.

Sale could regain that reputation if he maintains his current production with the Braves, plus earns even more hardware.

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