Who other than the reigning Cy Young award winner would toe the rubber in the Braves’ Grapefruit League opener? Nobody, that’s the answer, and Chris Sale picked up right where he left off.
Sale recorded a 2.38 ERA with 225 strikeouts to go along with an 18-3 record last year, becoming the first National League pitcher to win the triple crown since Clayton Kershaw did back in 2011.
It led to Sale’s first-ever Cy Young award and a seventh-place finish in the National League MVP race. To make it sweeter, the Braves didn’t even have to pay his salary, as the Red Sox sent over $17 million in the deal to net Vaughn Grissom.
In his first appearance in 2025, he was perfect in two innings against the Twins. The 35-year-old southpaw threw just 21 pitches in those two frames, and he liked the way he performed on Saturday.
“It’s good to get the first one out of the way,” Sale said. “I always get nervous before starts. So, I was pacing [in the clubhouse] and even in between innings — it felt like forever. So, to get off on the right foot was a good feeling.”
Fully healthy, a Sale and Spencer Strider-led Atlanta Braves rotation is as good as it gets in baseball. Strider will miss a few times through the rotation, but not much more than that.
Chris Sale picking up right where he left off is encouraging for Braves fans and the organization as a whole. If there’s one thing that can ruin the 2025 season, it’s injuries.
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Photographer: Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire
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