Chris Sale pitches well and bullpen completes scoreless weekend as Braves sweep D-backs

Five observations:

1. In the series opener, Spencer Strider apparently pitched through UCL damage in his right elbow – an injury that could be devastating for him. On the next night, Max Fried underwhelmed.

The Braves are fortunate: On the final day of the series, they sent out Sale, a seven-time All-Star who was once baseball’s top strikeout pitcher.

And Sale, despite the injuries in recent seasons, has proven he’s still himself. Starting last September, when he played for Boston, he’s consistently pitched well.

“That’s my job,” Sale said. “That’s what I did for a really long time until I didn’t, really. To be able to get back on track and get the first two starts out of the way, and just feel like I’m comfortable with my delivery and being able to command the zone.”

Sale on Sunday permitted two runs over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out six and didn’t walk anyone.

On Sunday, you saw the allure of that trade: It made the Braves’ rotation much better, and deeper, because it fortified the unit with another elite arm – provided they keep him healthy.

Is Sale what he was in his younger days? Probably not. But that’s a high bar and to this point, this much is clear: Sale still has something – and that something is good. He can still do this at a high level. And with Strider sidelined, he’s much more important.

“It feels good,” Sale said of Sunday’s outing. “It felt like I had all three pitches working, felt like I was mostly commanding the zone. …This was my first time pitching here – ever – and first time pitching here as a Brave. It was special. I felt the energy throughout the whole game. To be able to pitch in front of the home crowd and have some success and win a ballgame, and then the ovation at the end was really special. My whole family was here, so to be able to share that with them and my team was nice.”

2. The Braves’ bullpen didn’t allow a single run this weekend.

“I didn’t even know that, honestly,” Tyler Matzek said.

But it’s true: The Braves’ relievers combined to post 14 1/3 scoreless innings against the D-backs. The Braves’ bullpen hasn’t given up a run since April 2 in Chicago.

The bullpen’s herculean effort was important because it allowed the Braves the opportunity to mount comebacks on Friday and Saturday.

Sale perfectly described the bullpen’s weekend.

“I mean, that’s what happens when you got eight closers out there,” he said.

The Braves had 11 different relief appearances. The D-backs didn’t score against Atlanta’s bullpen.

“We’ll take that all the way, 100 percent,” Matzek said of the scoreless weekend. “I think down there, we have a level of expectation that we kind of put on ourselves. We’re all out there just trying to do our best to hold ourselves to that standard and hold everybody else to that standard.”

3. More context on the Braves’ bullpen: Their scoreless streak of 14 1/3 innings is the longest active run in baseball. It’s Atlanta’s longest such streak since the relievers threw 19 straight scoreless innings from May 31 to June 7 (when it ended) last year.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of something like that,” Pierce Johnson said of the scoreless weekend versus Arizona. “It’s just a testament to how good our bullpen is, from top to bottom. Truly, everybody in our ‘pen, everybody trusts, literally from the start of the game to the end of the game. You got a lot of seasoned vets down there, you got a lot of guys who have experienced high leverage. …We’re so deep, and it’s just fun to see everybody go out there and we just kind of rally together and just keep passing the baton to the next guy.”

A reminder: The Braves’ bullpen could be really, really good.

The offense will grab the headlines. The starting pitching will be the center of a lot of discussion.

The bullpen, though, must not be forgotten.

4. In spring training, Sale said he didn’t care how the Braves set up his workload. His job, he said, is to pitch. He would be fine with anything.

Through two starts, the Braves haven’t been too cautious with Sale. They’ve let him pitch.

He’s made it into the sixth inning in both outings. He threw 83 pitches in Philadelphia and 96 on Sunday.

The trust from manager Brian Snitker and the coaching staff has been nice for Sale.

“It builds confidence,” he said. “I obviously appreciate that. Our bullpen has been nails all year, and they’ve been asked to do a lot, up to now. Obviously, I think, as the summer goes, we’ll get a little bit longer leash. Early on, it is what it is (with) where we’re at. Any time you can go out there and try to keep those guys sitting down out there, it’s nice.”

5. In the eighth inning, Austin Riley smoked a two-run shot to give the Braves two important insurance runs. When Johnson entered in the ninth for the save, which he completed, he had some breathing room.

And before that, Matt Olson homered in the second inning and Michael Harris II sent one out in the fourth.

The Braves scored 20 runs over three games this weekend.

Stat to know

4 of 8 - The Braves have swept four of the eight home-opening series since Truist Park opened in 2017. The team swept San Diego in 2017, the Cubs in 2019 and the Rays (two games) in 2020.

Quotable

“I thought they’ve been great. Super competitive. He attacks the zone and he’s like, ‘Here it is.’ That was a really good start today.”-Riley on Sale’s first two starts.

Up next

Monday marks the 50th anniversary of Braves Hall of Famer Hank Aaron’s historic 715th home run. The Braves and Mets play the first of four games at Truist Park. Charlie Morton will face old friend Julio Teheran. First pitch is at 7:20 p.m.