Chris Sale Makes History Ahead of Awaited October Start for Braves

For the regular season, that's a wrap for Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale. Following a dominant night against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night, the next we'll see him is in the postseason.

It was a final start fitting for arm of his caliber. He tossed 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits and no walks while striking out 10.

With that 10th strikeout of the game, he checked off a major milestone. The biggest one was that it was his 200th strikeout of the season, making it the ninth time in his career that he's reached the mark.

He matched Randy Johnson as the only two left-handers in MLB history with at least nine seasons 200-strikeout seasons.

"It's cool," Sale said. "It's something that, you know, for some weird reason, we in the baseball world, we love even numbers. You know? We love 10. We love 100. We love 200. Is 199 that much less cool than 200? I don't know, but we just, we love kind of seeting benchmarks. So, I appreciate. I'm thank for the people that got me here. I'm thankful for being able to do it."

For good measure, it also marked his fifth double-digit strikeout game of the season and the 96th of his career. He needs one more to match the legendary Sandy Koufax.

He continues to put himself in some of the most legendary company. It puts into context how fantastic his career has been, even with the lost the years in the middle. There is almost an argument to make that even as a future Hall of Famer, his career can be considered a what-if.

Very few Hall of Famers can even have a what-if attached to them. Maybe Koufax is the other since he retired at 30. When you can have a generational run and there could have been more, it probably narrows down to those two real quick.

So, maybe 199 isn't necessarily less impressive than 200. Sale has a valid point when he begs the question. He's still found a way to have these legendary moments, and he has a chance to tack on to his Hall of Fame resume.

He already has the Cy Young. He already earned himself a ring, closing out that series even. But there's always room for more.

Come his next start, he'll make his first postseason appearance for the Braves. It'll be his first time seeing postseason action since the 2021 season when he was with the Boston Red Sox. His last start in October came in Game 5 of the ALCS against the Houston Astros.

"It's been a while," Chris Sale said of getting to pitch for the Braves in the postseason, "and, you know, it'll be my first time here doing it with Atlanta. So, you know we'll be at home, which will be amazing. So, again, I love pitching in Atlanta. I love pitching in front of these fans, and being able to do it in the postseason makes it that much more special."

Along with the fans, the team is equally eager to see him pitch for them in the postseason.

"I always say it's a great day when he's pitching," manager Walt Weiss said. "Everybody feels good when it's a Chris Sale day. So, yeah, I'm sure that'll even be multiplied in the postseason. But he's one of those guys that elevates a team."

The Braves will have home field for all three games of the Wild Card series. The opponent is to be determined. But regardless of that opponent, Sale and the Braves will be determined to go out there and get their push for a World Series started.

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