Why was Chris Sale's complete-game shutout vs. Dodgers a defining career moment?
Yahoo Sports senior MLB analyst Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman react to Atlanta Braves Chris Sale's outstanding performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hear the full conversation on the "Baseball Bar-B-Cast" podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
Nine innings, five hits, no runs, no walks, 11 strikeouts, two hit by pitches for good measure.
Chris Sale last night with the complete game shutty against the Los Angeles Dodgers to complete the sweep for the Atlanta Braves, going toe-to-toe against Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
1-0 win for the Braves.
One of the most memorable regular season non no-hitter perfect game pitching performances that I can remember, for quite some time.
And the reason for that obviously is the context.
Chris Sale is a future Hall of Famer.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the Los Angeles Dodgers in town in Atlanta to complete the sweep.
Going up against Yamamoto, the stage was set, and boy oh boy, did Chris Sale deliver.
It feels kind of overly dramatic and overwrought to say this.
It felt like a Hall of Fame defining moment.
It was You know, we earlier this season, Jordan, we talked about did Jacob deGrom just win the Cy Young by beating the Dodgers?
And like, yes and no, and the idea that the Dodgers are this litmus test is a little silly.
But what Sale did last night for me was like, "Oh, no, that, that's a Hall of Famer right there."
Yeah, I mean, his whole Braves chapter has been just astonishing.
So after last night, he has tied Christopher Sanchez in fWAR, just .3 behind the Miz.
So Chris Sale's in this thing.
Again, I don't think Mi- the Miz had a relative clunker last night, at Citi Field.
But what Chris Sale did last night, throwing 100 miles an hour for the first time in eight years speaks to how good he's feeling in general at age 37.
Yeah.
The juice that he had last night facing the Dodgers, going for the sweep, pitching at home, trying to make a statement in a 1-0 game, right?
That adds to it too because the, you know you're going up against Yamamoto, the, the margin for error is so small.
All of it came together to give us a, a really, really, really special performance.
