The Dodgers have a clear advantage in Game 2, and it comes from an unexpected place: Chris Sale will not be on the mound for Atlanta.
Instead, the Braves are turning the game into a bullpen night, a move that traces back to how aggressively manager Walt Weiss used Sale in the Wild Card Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Sale pitched Game 1 and Game 3 in relief there, and with Atlanta already dealing with a pile of pitching injuries, Weiss had to make a difficult call about how to handle him this round.
Sale was still in consideration for Game 2, but Weiss said the choice ultimately came down to how the left-hander was feeling. Rather than push him again on short turnaround, the Braves are saving him for Game 3.
“We had a conversation this morning. Look, at the end of the day, we want full-strength Chris Sale,” Weiss said to the media, including Dodgers Nation. “I know him at 80 percent is really good, but that’s what it came down to.
“We’ve given him extra rest all year, and it’s served him very well. It allowed him to do what he did the other night, I think all the extra rest he’d gotten.
He’d be on normal rest from his last start, but he had the outing in between. Not sure you’re getting the best version of him pitching today.
We’re certain he will pitch in Game 3.”
That explanation did not exactly settle things inside the Braves’ camp. Ronald Acuna was asked about Sale being held back from Game 2 and, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, paused and took a breath before deciding not to go much further.
“I don’t know what I’m going to say about this because I can’t control that. I can control what I can control.
So today we go out and try to win. I’m doing my best, my team too, and we’ll see what happens today,” Acuna said.
For the Dodgers, the shift matters. Postseason margins are thin, and avoiding Sale in Game 2 removes a major obstacle. Atlanta is betting that keeping him back for Game 3 gives it the best version of its ace when it might need him most.
If Los Angeles grabs a 2-0 lead, the scrutiny on Weiss will only grow. For a rookie manager in his first postseason run, the decision could loom large very quickly.
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It also wasnt the first time Los Angeles had to rein him in. The Dodgers had already limited Pages from challenging pitches in the second half of the regular season because of similar problems, and his early challenge in Game 1 left the team with only one challenge for the rest of the night. For a club trying to manage every edge it can in the postseason, that kind of self-inflicted drain is hard to overlook. [Read more 🡒]