June 27, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale (51) pitches against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports Chris Sale signed with the Atlanta Braves this offseason in an effort to get his career back on track.
The left-hander probably didn’t expect to make it to the All-Star Game as one of the best pitchers in the National League.
A day after earning his eighth All-Star selection — and first since 2018 — Sale will take the mound for the Braves on Monday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix.
Sale (11-3, 2.71 ERA) is tied for the major league lead in wins and ranks sixth in strikeouts (127) and eighth in ERA.
Sale, 35, was a seven-time American League All-Star from 2012-18, starting each of the last three, before injuries derailed his career. The biggest blow was Tommy John surgery in 2020 that caused him to miss most of 2021.
“It’s really satisfying and I’m enjoying it, for sure,” Sale said Sunday after learning he had been selected to the National League. “You go through years like I did and you start to wonder if it’s a real possibility again.
“Being in that position, having a team give me a chance, it wasn’t an easy trigger to pull – I guess – just because of what it looked like before.”
Sale appeared in five All-Star Games for the Chicago White Sox and two for the Boston Red Sox. He struck out a career-high 308 batters for the Red Sox in 2017.
Sale has allowed two runs or fewer in 11 of his last 12 starts. The exception was a horrific outing against the Oakland Athletics on June 1, in which he allowed eight runs in four innings in a no-decision.
Sale is 2-0 with a 2.53 ERA in three career games (two starts) against Arizona. He beat the Diamondbacks on April 7 when he allowed two runs and four hits in 5 1/3 innings in a 5-2 home victory.
Randal Grichuk (6 for 20) homered twice against Sale. All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte was 1 for 12 against him.
The Braves used four home runs Sunday to produce a 6-0 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Phillies and take two of three games in the series.
“It was a good series,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “We lost a run. We’ve bounced back pretty well the last couple of days.”
Arizona won two of three games against the San Diego Padres over the weekend, capping it off with a 9-1 rout on Sunday.
Eugenio Suarez tied his career high with five RBIs with a two-run homer and a three-run double.
“The home run was definitely a difference-maker,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said of Suarez’s seventh-inning homer. “Geno had a tremendous day. Those were tough hits. And he works really hard to make those moments happen.”
Suarez was acquired from the Seattle Mariners in the offseason to provide power, but he has struggled for most of the season. His hit Sunday was just his seventh of the season. He hit 22 last year.
Suarez, who turns 33 on July 18, hit .172 in May and .156 in June, but he’s started well this month. His three hits Sunday raised his July average to .421 (8 for 19).
“When you have days like that, you feel good,” said Suarez, who has topped 30 home runs four times in his career. “I want to stay humble, keep doing what I’m doing and work hard every day.”
Arizona will promote right-hander Yilber Diaz to make his major league debut Monday. Diaz is 1-3 with a 3.27 ERA in four starts at Triple-A Reno after starting the season at Double-A Amarillo and going 3-5 with a 4.33 ERA.
Diaz, 23, is the Diamondbacks’ No. 16 prospect. He has 105 strikeouts in 76 minor league innings this season.
–Field level media
