Braves Send Chris Sale to Mound for Pirates Finale, Hoping to Avoid Sweep

The Atlanta Braves have one of the NL's best starters on the mound this afternoon in Pittsburgh

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale leads the team in wins (7) / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves would love to not get swept. 

After two straight losses to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta’s needing to win the Sunday afternoon series finale to avoid just their second losing sweep of the season. The good news is that they are in a good position to do it, though - the Braves are sending their winningest pitcher on the season, lefty Chris Sale (7-1, 2.22) to the mound against fellow veteran lefty Martín Pérez (1-3, 4.80). 

Lineups for the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, May 26th 

Here's how Atlanta will line up for the contest:

RF Ronald Acuña Jr
2B Ozzie Albies
DH Marcell Ozuna
1B Matt Olson
C Travis d’Arnaud
LF Adam Duvall
SS Orlando Arcia
CF Michael Harris II
3B Zack Short

Sale’s performance this season has been a welcome throwback to his early career dominance - his .875 winning percentage is the highest of his career and he leads the National League in both walk rate (just 1.3 BB/9) and strikeouts per walk ratio, currently at 8.75 punchies to every free pass. He’s one of only two qualified National League pitchers with both an ERA and a FIP below 2.50, with the other being Shota Imanaga of the Chicago Cubs. The only member of the Pirates roster with a hit off of him is first baseman Rowdy Tellez, who is 2-3.   

Here's the Pirates lineup:

DH Andrew McCutcheon
LF Bryan Reynolds
1B Connor Joe
2B Nick Gonzales
RF Edward Olivares
3B Jared Triolo
C Joey Bart
CF Michael A. Taylor
SS Alika Williams

Pérez doesn’t have a lot of experience against Atlanta, with his only career start coming in 2019 - he allowed seven runs on twelve hits (including three homers) and two walks in six innings of a Braves win over the Minnesota Twins. Ozzie Albies was the main culprit there, hitting two homers as part of a four-hit day. 

How to Watch the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, May 26th 

This afternoon’s series finale is scheduled for a 1:35 PM ET first pitch. It’s being broadcast on Bally Sports Southeast and SportsNet Pittsburgh, with those out-of-market having the game on MLB.tv. 

If you’d rather just listen, the Pirates radio broadcast is available on KDKA-FM 93.7 while the Atlanta Braves Radio Network has the standard broadcast on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan and affiliates across Braves Country.