The Atlanta Braves will likely be without their ace for this week’s Wild Card series against the San Diego Padres.
On Monday, following the Braves’ 3-0 win over the New York Mets that clinched a postseason berth, Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters that Sale is unlikely to be available for the Wild Card series against the Padres.
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Sale was scratched from his scheduled start in the second game of the doubleheader with back spasms. Now, the Braves will be without their best pitcher for the beginning of the postseason.
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Sale is coming off one of the best seasons of his career in 2024, his first with the Braves. Atlanta acquired Sale from the Boston Red Sox this offseason along with cash for infielder Vaughn Grissom. Sale then turned in his best season since 2018, going 18-3 with a Major League-best 2.38 ERA and National League-best 225 strikeouts.
Sale is the heavy favorite to win the NL Cy Young award this year, which would be the first of his storied career. Sale made seven straight All-Star teams from 2012-18, and was top-six in Cy Young voting every year. He finished second in Cy Young voting in 2017 while with the Red Sox.
His first season in the NL has been impressive, and the 35-year-old was expected to play a pivotal role in Atlanta’s postseason run. However, he now won’t be available for at least the Wild Card series, which is a best-of-three series from Tuesday to Thursday. All three games are in San Diego.
Padres manager Mike Shildt announced his starters for the three-game series. Michael King will pitch in Game 1, Joe Musgrove will pitch in Game 2, and Dylan Cease will pitch in a win-or-go-home Game 3.
As for the Braves, Spencer Schwellenbach pitched on Monday and Charlie Morton pitched on Sunday, making both of them likely unavailable for this week’s series.
Reynaldo López pitched six innings on Sept. 28 and then threw one scoreless inning on Monday, making him likely unavailable for the Wild Card series, too, at least in a bulk role.
Finally, Max Fried last pitched on Sept. 27, meaning he could pitch Game 1 on short rest, or wait for Game 2 on Wednesday.
The Braves are definitely not set up for a three-game series starting Tuesday. However, they’ll have to find a way to piece things together and will be doing it without their ace.
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