Following his stellar performance against his old team, Chris Sale was honest: He cares a lot about his former Red Sox teammates, manager and coaches. He loves them. He always will.
Those are lifelong memories and relationships.
For a few hours, though, they were the enemy. And he carved them up.
The Braves gave Sale enough run support, and he did the rest as Atlanta beat Boston, 5-0, to sweep the two-game set at Truist Park. The Braves are 22-12.
Five observations:
1. This was not Sale’s first time facing a former team. Years ago, he pitched against the White Sox after they traded him to Boston. But after his start against the Red Sox, he said it felt different from that time he went up against Chicago.
The relationships, and the memories, ran deeper. As Sale listed examples, you could hear it in his voice: He truly loves his former teammates and coaches.
“We won a championship together,” Sale said. “I watched (third baseman) Rafael Devers make his major-league debut and turn into a $300 million superstar. I was watching (starting pitcher) Kutter Crawford at (Florida Gulf Coast University), that guy’s like a little brother to me. Even (starting pitcher) Nick Pivetta, he lived down in southwest Florida and we had an entire offseason together. The list goes on and on. I could sit here and talk about (manager Alex Cora) for the next three hours.
“It is different.”
Against his former team, Sale looked like the star who arrived in Boston – the one before the injuries. And he continued proving those setbacks might be behind him, that he may be able to recapture what he had before that.
He tossed six shutout innings. He struck out a season-high 10 batters. His slider was particularly devastating (again): The Red Sox whiffed on 13 of the 18 swings they took against the pitch.
Sale benefited from great defense, especially from Austin Riley and Jarred Kelenic. Riley made multiple terrific plays in the infield, and Kelenic robbed a ball at the left field wall – one that could’ve been a homer and certainly would’ve been extra bases.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
And while on the mound, Sale kept his personal affection for the Red Sox out of it.
“It’s no secret. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it 1,000 times until I run out of breath: I love those guys. I always will,” he said. “The memories I’ve made with them – good and bad – make that relationship as solid as it is. But, on the flip side of that, we’re men. This is a competitive game and we have a job to do. I’m very competitive by nature, I know that those guys over there are as well.
“You give them the head nod the first go around in the batting order. Hey, I got respect for all those guys, I love those guys. But we’re here to win. We’re here to help our team win and do the job we’re supposed to do. Outside the lines, we’re brothers, we love each other and we’re pulling for each other. Inside of those lines, it’s business, and that’s just how it is.”
2. For almost two weeks, the Braves had not looked like themselves. Among the differences: They were not hitting home runs like usual.
Before Wednesday, the Braves had hit only five homers since April 26 – tied with Boston (ironically) for the fewest in baseball over that span. That is five homers in 10 games for a prolific offense that set records last season.
In the first three innings on Wednesday, the Braves had three home runs: Two from Marcell Ozuna, one from Orlando Arcia. And in the first inning, Ozuna and Arcia blasted back-to-back shots.
“It just kind of settles you into the game,” Sale said of those back-to-back homers. “It was, obviously, my old team. And we haven’t been playing great baseball, we had a rough road trip. Obviously we took one (Tuesday), which was nice. But that kind of put the exclamation of like, ‘Hey, we’re kind of back’ offensively.”
The Braves slug. They know it. Their manager, Brian Snitker, often says it. They’re built to mash homers.
When they do so, they score in bunches, as they did Wednesday. It’s quicker and, in a way, easier than stringing together multiple hits and manufacturing runs.
“No, it’s always good,” Snitker said of the homers. “We’ll take them any way we can get them. But we can do that all we want, but if we don’t pitch – and that was really good tonight (from the pitching).”
3. Ahead of Wednesday’s game, the Red Sox activated starter Nick Pivetta from the injured list after he dealt with a right elbow flexor strain. Just in time for Ozuna to see him.
Entering Wednesday, Ozuna was 6-for-24 versus Pivetta – but four were homers.
Make that 8-for-26 with six homers. Ozuna got him twice.
“I feel good against him – I feel good. I feel good against everyone,” Ozuna said. “When you’re not on time, you’re not gonna feel good. When you’re on time, the best ones can come up there and pitch, and I feel good.”
He’s correct: At this point, a Hall of Famer in his prime could be throwing, and Ozuna would hit him. He’s on fire.
With his second homer, Ozuna became MLB’s home run leader, with 12 of them. He also ranks first with 38 RBIs.
And, of course, he’s still bringing energy and fun to the club.
“He’s the fun guy to be around,” Sale said. “He’s got, like, a magnetic field around him. You just want to be around him. He’s a fun guy to play with. He keeps the energy up in the clubhouse, in the dugout, on the bus on the plane. It doesn’t matter where you’re at, you just want to be around that guy.”
4. The key play you won’t hear enough about: In the first inning, Riley beat out the throw to first base to stay out of an inning-ending double play. He was initially ruled out, but the Braves challenged it – and won.
The next batter, Matt Olson, hit a soft infield single.
Then Ozuna and Arcia homered.
“That’s a huge baseball play,” Snitker said of Riley’s hustle. “And then the other plays that he made. But it’s one of those team-first guys, that you bust your tail and beat that. Because that was a strong double play they turned, and they beat. That pretty much was the difference of the game.”
5. Next up: A three-game series versus the Mets in New York.
On Friday, Charlie Morton will face lefty Jose Quintana. On Saturday, Max Fried will go up against right-hander Christian Scott. On Sunday, Bryce Elder will pitch against Luis Severino.
Stat to know
4 - Atlanta on Wednesday tallied its fourth shutout victory of the season.
Quotable
“No. That was about as clean a break as you could possibly have from one team to another. I owe it to Atlanta to be the best that I can be, and that goes for any other team. I went into this offseason on a mission. It was the first offseason I had in a while where I wasn’t having to deal with something. I got after it. I knew I had to do it. I just want to keep riding this wave as long as I can.” - Sale when asked whether he had any extra motivation to show the Red Sox they made a mistake by trading him
Up next
After an off-day, Friday’s game against the Mets in New York starts at 7:10 p.m.
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