Chris Sale will be named the National League Cy Young Award winner Wednesday.
It’s that much of a foregone conclusion.
Sale won the NL’s pitching triple crown. In his first season with the Braves, the left-hander totaled the best ERA, most wins and most strikeouts in the league. Sale finished with a 2.38 ERA (best in MLB), 18 wins (tied for the most in MLB) and 225 strikeouts. In the Cy Young Award era, every pitcher who has won the triple crown — in all of baseball or his league — has won the award.
Sale is the first pitching triple crown winner in Braves history.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution went back and highlighted some of Sale’s best performances on his way to his first Cy Young Award for the eight-time All-Star.
April 26 vs. Guardians
Early in the season it was clear that Sale was the best version of himself – healthy. He retired the final 17 batters he faced while working seven innings (going that far in three consecutive starts) and allowed two hits and one earned run in the Braves’ 6-2 win over the Guardians at home. He struck out six. When asked if it was the best he felt in the past six years, Sale joked “I wish you guys would stop talking about it.” He tried to knock on the table at which he sat – only it was plastic and not wood. Things worked out.
May 8 vs. Red Sox
Sale still cared about his former teammates and coaches with the Red Sox. That didn’t stop him from carving them up. Sale struck out, to that point, a season-high 10 batters as he worked six innings of a 5-0 win at home. The Red Sox whiffed on 13 of the 18 swings they took against his slider. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it 1,000 times until I run out of breath: I love those guys,” Sale said afterward. “I always will. 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.”
May 14 vs. Cubs
Sale struck out nine and walked none through seven scoreless innings in a 7-0 win over the Cubs at home. In his past four outings, Sale allowed two earned runs over 25 innings. He struck out 34 while walking only two. The Braves were 4-0 in those starts. Sale had a 2.54 ERA over 49-2/3 innings at that point. “I’m obviously happy with where we’ve been and where we are, but we have a long way to go,” he said. “I’m appreciative of where we are, but it’s nothing to hang your hat on quite yet.”
May 20 vs. Padres
The Braves were reeling having lost three games against the Padres at home. Sale ended the losing streak as he pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out nine without a walk in the final game of a doubleheader for a 3-0 win. He ran his scoreless streak to 20 innings and allowed only one run in his past 25 innings. “He’s been just nails,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “The rhythm, the whole thing. He’s in a groove.”
June 27 vs. White Sox
The Braves lost a 1-0 decision to the White Sox in Chicago. Sale went seven innings, allowed four hits and just the one earned run, and struck out a career-high 11. He allowed a home run to the third batter he faced. That was it. It was also all the White Sox would need. Chicago was where Sale started his career. “Not too often a first-inning solo homer wins a game, but it happens,” Sale said. “That’s the game of baseball. That’s why this game is played and we figure it out out there.”
Aug. 12 vs. Giants
Sale outdueled the Giants’ Blake Snell as he gave up just three hits and struck out a season-best 12 batters, without a walk, in seven innings of a 1-0 Braves win in San Francisco. Snell carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning. “That’s what we show up to do,” Sale said. “We love the competition. It was fun for me to get out there and just let loose and keep (the score) where it was and give my team a chance.”
Aug. 17 vs. Angels
Sale was the beneficiary of a big offensive night in an 11-3 road win over the Angels. He worked six innings and allowed six hits and two earned runs. Sale struck out 10, the third consecutive game he record double-digit strikeouts. Sale was becoming the clear favorite for the pitching triple crown. He led all National League pitchers with 14 wins, a 2.62 ERA and 186 strikeouts. “I don’t put a whole lot into it,” he said of the triple crown topic. “There’s a left column and a right column, and we want to stack as many on the left as we can. We’re getting late in the year and wins are crucial, and that’s what we’re in it for.”
Sept. 14 vs. Dodgers
Sale earned his 18th and final win of the season as the Braves defeated the eventual World Series winning Dodgers 10-1 at home. He allowed one run over six innings and struck out six. He continued his triple-crown pursuit as he led the N.L. he would win a pitching triple crown because he leads the NL in wins (17), ERA (2.35) and strikeouts (219). He would win his final start of the regular season to finish with 18 wins. “I mean, he’s kind of first in the league for the Cy Young,” the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts told reporters after the game.
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