Chris Sale’s playoff usage has turned into one of those situations that makes perfect sense on paper and still feels a little off once it actually plays out.
The basic facts are straightforward enough. Sale has already gotten extra rest before a lot of his starts this season, and he hasn’t been used on the standard four days’ rest very often.
He also came out of the bullpen to close out the Braves’ NL Wild Card Series win over the Phillies. That relief outing is what sent everyone down the rabbit hole.
Because once Sale worked in relief, there was a very logical path where that appearance simply functioned like a normal bullpen session. In that version of events, he could have lined up to start NLDS Game 2 on regular rest and, if necessary, come back again for NLDS Game 5. For the Braves, that would have mattered a lot: Sale is really good, Tyler Mahle would only appear once in the NLDS because of the schedule, and Atlanta doesn’t have any other starters.
Instead, Sale did not get the Game 2 assignment. That set off the obvious question: did the bullpen appearance push him back a game?
Maybe. But there’s no clear answer from the outside.
It’s just as possible the Braves were going to delay him anyway for reasons nobody outside the room knows.
The reporting points toward this being a Braves call rather than a Chris Sale call, which doesn’t sound surprising. There’s also reporting that Sale wasn’t 100 percent going into Sunday’s Game 2, though it’s still not clear whether that would have been true even if he had simply been on normal rest and never pitched in relief.
So the cleanest takeaway is that there isn’t a clean takeaway. The line between Sale’s bullpen appearance and him not starting Game 2 never really comes into focus, and maybe it never will.
Maybe that relief outing mattered. Maybe it didn’t.
Maybe he was always headed for extra rest.
What makes the whole thing so strange is that the Braves’ path forward still depends heavily on how many Chris Sale outings they can squeeze out of the rest of the series. At the same time, they also have enough offense to just win a slugfest, or to do what they did in NLDS Game 2 and take a game they probably shouldn’t have won in the first place.
In Other News...
Ronald Acua Jr. Reopened Braves Drama Before A Huge Game 3
Ronald Acua Jr. added a fresh layer of intrigue around the Braves on the eve of Game 3 of the NLDS, using a Spanish-language podcast appearance to share his thoughts on the coaching staff. The comments centered on someone who is no longer with the team, and while Acua and his co-host stopped short of naming the person, the discussion was pointed enough to spark immediate speculation.
For Atlanta, the timing is what makes it stick. With a huge postseason game coming, the remarks have pulled attention back toward a familiar off-field storyline, even though the exact target of Acuas criticism still has not been confirmed. It is the kind of sidelight that can follow a team into October, especially when the baseball itself is about to matter even more. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Had To Change Their NLDS Plan Around Ronald Acua Jr
Ronald Acua Jr. was supposed to be part of the Braves Game 3 NLDS formula in the outfield, but the plan shifted as the series moved on. Lingering knee soreness from a slide in a previous game pushed Atlanta to make a late adjustment, moving Acua to designated hitter and reshaping the rest of the lineup around it.
Sean Murphy was scratched and Lane Thomas was added in right field, while the Braves kept their catching duties aligned behind Chris Sale by leaning on Drake Baldwin. Murphy still remains in the mix as a pinch-hitting option, a reminder that even in October, one nagging issue can force a team to redraw its blueprint on the fly. [Read more 🡒]
Braves-Dodgers Game 3 Just Took Two Unexpected Turns
The NL Division Series shifts to Atlanta with the stakes even again, and the broadcast booth is getting an unusual late change before first pitch. Joe Davis will not call Game 3 between the Dodgers and Braves because he lost his voice, so Kenny Albert is stepping in for the national telecast as the series heads to Tuesdays 6:00 ET matchup.
The on-field wrinkle is just as notable for a Braves team trying to seize control at home. Los Angeles is also altering its order, moving Shohei Ohtani into the fifth spot against Chris Sale, a move that adds another layer to a game already carrying plenty of pressure with the series knotted at 1-1. [Read more 🡒]