The Atlanta Braves are a team that will be especially dangerous in October. After last year's failure to make the playoffs, they have operated this season with a sense of urgency and it has shown. Despite dropping Game 2 of a four-game set against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, they still hold a stranglehold on the division lead with just three weeks remaining in the regular season.
The Braves undoubtedly have their stars in the lineup, but there is one pitcher who has carried the rotation all year long and that is left-handed ace Chris Sale . Sale has been particularly dominant over his last three starts, delivering against proven NL contenders in the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Phillies.
All three of those teams are arguably among the top four in the National League, and Sale delivered in all three outings, allowing just four total runs combined. Come October he will be a significant problem for opposing lineups.
He remains in contention for the NL Cy Young Award in a head-to-head race with Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski. Across 25 starts, the 37-year-old has posted a minuscule 2.10 ERA with 184 strikeouts across 150 innings of work.
Sale has also made a positive impact on the clubhouse, with second baseman Ozzie Albies praising him during an appearance on MLB Network .
"He has been one of the best teammates I think I've had in my career. We always go to him and he knows what to do," Albies said.
That is quite the endorsement from Albies, who has seen plenty of players come and go during his time in Atlanta. The 29-year-old has spent over a decade with the organization and was a part of the 2021 World Series championship team.
Now in his 10th season, there were some concerns heading into the year about whether his best days were behind him, but he has shown he is still one of the better second basemen in the league. He has posted a .252 batting average, .307 on-base percentage and .721 OPS across 142 games while earning his fourth career All-Star selection.
The job is not finished for this Braves team, but they have the chemistry and the pitching to make a deep run this October. With Sale leading the charge, they have every reason to feel confident about their chances of returning to the World Series. The Braves will take on the Phillies for Game 3 of their four-game series on Sunday.
