Chris Sale's Push to Pitch for Braves Another Example of Warrior Mindset

Had Chris Sale only pitched in Game 1, career-best postseason performance and all, that likely would have been enough for the Atlanta Braves. But for him, it clearly wouldn't be.

Before Game 3, manager Walt Weiss didn't even intend to ask him to pitch.

"I didn't want to put him in that postion," Weiss said after the game.

As Weiss sat down in his office the day of the game, Sale was already sitting across from him at his desk, ready to make his case that he was able to help.

"He looked at me, and he said, I feel amazing, is what he said, and I said, well, let's talk," Weiss said with a large smile across his face.

That's just who Chris Sale is. If he has a chance to playa role in his team winning a game, he's going to fight his way into the conversation.

“My job is not what, why, when, how, whatever," he said on Tuesday. "Like, I'm literally a robot. You hand me the ball, and I’ll go throw until you say I'm done.”

A game plan was mapped out. Sale knew when he'd likely come in and what part of the order he'd be tasked with facing. But to the public ahead of the game, this plan was wisely only alluded to in the notion that all hands were on deck for a winner-take-all game.

Starting in the seventh inning, you start to see the lanky, 6-foot-6 robot began tossing in the bullpen.

With two outs in the eighth and Bryce Harper due up, manager Walt Weiss stepped out of the dugout, and a distinct energy began to build.

"Electric," Ray Kerr said.

"I love this, so the energy coming was exciting," Ozzie Albies said. "Everybody was pumped that he came in."

Sale sat Harper down on four pitches. The same pitch type called by catcher Drake Baldwin each time. Apart from a ball called on the third pitch, Harper obliged, but in the end, inning over.

When he came back out for the ninth inning, it was as loud as when he was back out for his complete game against the Dodgers in August. He'd been there before. He closed out the 2018 World Series for the Boston Red Sox. Time to run it back.

Following a lead-off single, he induced a popup and then struck out the next two batters. Series clinched. Goggles on. Champagne popped.

"What a warrior, man," Weiss said of Sale's night. "I mean, this guy, I've run out of superlatives for Sale, talking about him all year. He's one of the best I've ever been around. I mean, when you take everything into consideration - teammate, competitor, performer or ethic, all of those things - he's as good as I've ever been around."

Now, the question is: Can he force his way into starting Game 1 on Saturday? Weiss said what was next hadn't been discussed yet. When you're still fighting to advance, anything else is on the back burner.

Conversations can now start.

He needed 21 pitches to get through the Phillies and finish them off. That's likely less than he'd throw in between starts for throwing programs. The Braves may understandably wait. In a best-of-5, you have more flexibility. But he comes in again and says he feels good, Weiss may feel inclined to talk again.

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