ATLANTA -- Thursday night’s Dodgers-Braves finale brings a matchup that feels as big as the names attached to it: Yoshinobu Yamamoto against Chris Sale, two pitchers sitting near the top of the ERA leaderboard and meeting for the first time.
The numbers tell the story of just how sharp both arms have been. Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski leads qualified MLB pitchers with a 2.04 ERA going back to Aug.
27, 2025. Yamamoto is next at 2.28, and Sale sits right behind him at 2.31.
For Dodgers fans, Sale’s name still carries a particular sting. He was the Red Sox left-hander who struck out the final three batters of the 2018 World Series against Los Angeles, finishing off the title in a perfect ninth inning at Dodger Stadium in a rare relief appearance.
Sale’s last trip to Los Angeles came on May 8, when he gave up three runs, two earned, over seven innings in a Dodgers victory. Against Atlanta, though, he has been a force. He owns a 1.97 ERA over his last 20 starts, and his 2.20 mark through 23 starts ranks third among all MLB starters.
Yamamoto, meanwhile, has become the stabilizing presence the Dodgers needed while injuries kept much of their rotation in flux. With three of the club’s four original aces sidelined for stretches, he has held things together at the front of the staff. Tyler Glasnow returned Tuesday, Blake Snell was activated on Aug. 11, and Shohei Ohtani is moving toward pitching activities, but Yamamoto has already done the heavy lifting.
The 28-year-old right-hander has been steady all season, and he’s been even better in August. Over four starts this month, he has posted a 2.08 ERA, struck out 27 batters in 26 innings and allowed three earned runs or fewer every time out.
Atlanta hasn’t solved him yet. Yamamoto has faced the Braves twice and worked 10 scoreless innings across those outings. His best showing against them came at Truist Park in May 2025, when he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and finished with six shutout frames, one hit allowed and six strikeouts.
The Braves have already taken the first two games of the three-game series, which means they’ve clinched the season series against the Dodgers and would own any tiebreaker between the teams. That matters with Atlanta at 78-55 and Los Angeles at 80-53, leaving the Braves just two games back in the race for the second of the National League’s two byes.
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