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The Atlanta Braves went out and surprised much of baseball this offseason, eschewing popular trade options like Dylan Cease of the Chicago White Sox, Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers, or Tyler Glasnow of the Tampa Bay Rays, when they traded for Boston Red Sox starter Chris Sale.
Sale, who wasn't even aware that he was going to be traded this offseason, is already at home with his new club.
"I've been enjoying it," Sale told Braves Today after his spring training outing on Sunday. "Everybody here has been awesome. The fans here have been very receptive - they're behind us, so that's all you can ask for." Sale received an ovation upon leaving his outing in the 3rd inning, leaving the game with runners on 2nd and 3rd with two outs. Non-roster invitee Kodi Whitley replaced Sale and got former Braves prospect Cristian Pache to strike out looking, preserving the clean sheet for Sale.
Sale went on to discuss the impact of the fans. "When athletes, (and) I think of specifically myself, talk about energy and feeding off of that - that's them. Obviously your teammates and the situation you're in may dictate that, but the fans bring energy."
Aow that the fans had started to get "behind him", what was still left to do from that point?
"Just don't suck and they'll like it," joked Sale, hinting that he'd seen what happens when a player wasn't performing up to the fan standards. "I've seen it first hand on the other side."
Sale finished his 2nd outing of Grapefruit League action with 2.1 innings of scoreless baseball, walking two but striking out five. He picked up two strikeouts swinging on the fastball in the first inning and three more on the slider, two looking in the 2nd and one swinging in the 3rd.
Awkward swing on a slider from Sale for the fifth and final strikeout of his day. #Sword pic.twitter.com/Fnu4pIpF1G
— Lindsay Crosby, big baseball guy (@CrosbyBaseball) March 3, 2024
But despite the great results, Sale wasn't completely satisfied with his outing.
Facing fourteen batters, Sale walked two and hit another, and he discussed the good and bad from the outing with us after the inning concluded, calling it a "mixed bag."
"It was terrible, all right, and pretty good," Sale explained, saying the issue was with the location of his slider. "I obviously want to clean up some of the command things - it seemed like it was coming in and out (of the zone)."
Chris Sale's 3rd & 4th Ks thru 2. pic.twitter.com/mpGuikXG4d
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 3, 2024
But ever the savvy veteran, Sale found a positive from the outing that he can hold on to: "When I needed to make pitches or when I was kind of against the wall, I was able to do that. It's good to get in those situations this time of year and work through those."
When asked if he cared more about the results - five strikeouts and a scoreless outing - or how he'd feel the next day after a longer outing than last week's, Sale had trouble picking. "Both? When I'm on a field, I want to compete. But at the same time, obviously, we're in spring training so the 'stepping stones' are important: Feeling good, getting through it, and feeling strong throughout was a good sign, so I was happy with that."
Several of Atlanta's expected 2024 contributors got on the mound behind Sale, with most of them getting through their outings unscathed. Daysbel Hernández, A.J. Minter, Pierce Johnson, and Joe Jiménez combined for two hits, one walk, and six strikeouts in an inning of work each, while Aaron Bummer got tagged for two runs (one earned) on three hits in the 3rd inning.
Orlando Arcia hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 6th, his first long ball of Grapefruit League play, as Atlanta beat Philly by a score of 3-2.
Orlando Arcia smokes a two-run blast pic.twitter.com/LMmWLPq6WV
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 3, 2024
The Braves are back in action on Tuesday with a road matchup against the Minnesota Twins. AJ Smith-Shawver is the scheduled starter for the Braves, with first pitch from Lee Health Sports Complex in Ft. Myers, FL scheduled for 1:05 PM ET. Radio coverage will be available via the Atlanta Braves Radio Network.
More must-reads:
- Nationals two-time All-Star lands on IL amid struggles
- Braves two-time All-Star addresses future with team
- The 'Active MLB strikeout leaders' quiz
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