Chris Sale shakes off illness and turns in another dominant start for the Braves
There have been plenty of doubts about the Braves’ starting rotation. Shaking off an illness that hampered his velocity, Sale allowed only one base runner in six innings of another dominant start to lead Atlanta past the Athletics 5-1 on Wednesday. After he had departed the interview room, manager Walt Weiss filled in the rest of the story.
ATLANTA (AP) — There have been plenty of doubts about the Braves’ starting rotation. No such worries for the top guy. Shaking off an illness that hampered his velocity, Sale allowed only one base runner in six innings of another dominant start to lead Atlanta past the Athletics 5-1 on Wednesday.
Sale (2-0) didn't even mention that he was feeling bad as he discussed having to make do with a more limited arsenal of pitches. After he had departed the interview room, manager Walt Weiss filled in the rest of the story. “He was sick as a dog," Weiss said.
“We didn't even know if he was going to be able to make that start. I was hoping to get three innings out of him. In the best-case scenario, maybe four.
” Instead, Sale (2-0) gave the Braves six dominant innings before turning it over to the bullpen for the final three innings. The only blemish on his pitching line was a fourth-inning homer to Shea Langeliers that barely cleared the left-field wall. Otherwise, he retired every Athletics hitter he faced — despite recognizing during his pregame warmup that he didn't have the normal speed on his pitches.