Reigning Cy Young Award Winner Looks Human in Braves Loss to Rays

For the first time in what feels like a long time, the Atlanta Braves starter had a rough day on the mound

After two dominant starts to start Spring Training, Sale ran into some trouble | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale struggled, at all, for the first time in an outing this Spring. In 3 1/3 innings pitched against the Tampa Bay Rays, he allowed four earned runs on five hits while walking two and striking out two. 

The Braves went on to lose 4-3. 

A plus is hitters had to earn their way on with five hits to just two walks. The inverse is arguably a bigger problem. Another is he threw over 60% of his pitches for strikes. Outside of that, it was a tough outing. 

Sale did not get a lot of quick at-bats. The first inning took only 10 pitches, and no other inning came close to that count. 

The first two Rays hitters of the second inning saw a combined 12 pitches in their back-to-back hits to lead off the inning alone. Sale had already thrown 16 pitches that inning before getting the first out. 

When he allowed a two-run home run to Brandon Lowe in the third inning, it came on the 23rd pitch of the frame. 

Rays hitters worked him until he started to tire out, broke through and got runs on the board. 

There should be no reason to hit the panic button though. This game serves as a reminder that a rough day was inevitable, even for a reigning Cy Young Award winner. As long as he’s healthy, he’s going to be able to check what went wrong in the film room and adjust for his next outing. 

Through three starts, Sale now has a 3.86 ERA, a 0.86 WHIP and six strikeouts through 9 1/3 innings pitched. 

The Braves return to action on Tuesday when they host the Detroit Tigers. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. Grant Holmes is currently scheduled to take the mound to start.