Chris Sale Demands The Ball In The Ninth To Complete First Shutout Since 2019 In Braves’ 1-0 Win Over Dodgers
Chris Sale delivered one of the most dominant pitching performances of the 2026 season on Thursday night in Atlanta, shutting out the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0.
The Atlanta Braves left-hander struck out 11 batters across a complete game, scattering five hits without issuing a single walk in a masterful display.
Sale improved to 13-9 on the season with the victory, which also secured a three-game sweep for the NL East-leading Braves over the Dodgers.
Fans inside the sellout crowd of 39,650 at Truist Park roared when Sale walked back to the mound for the ninth inning, despite relievers warming in the Atlanta bullpen.
Braves manager Walt Weiss backed his ace all the way, leaving Sale in even after Freddie Freeman singled to lead off the ninth inning.
Teoscar Hernandez popped out before pinch-runner Alek Thomas was thrown out at second on Miguel Rojas’ fielder’s-choice grounder, and Sale finished the job by striking out Alex Call.
It was Sale’s 17th career complete game and his first since 2019, when he was still pitching for the Boston Red Sox.
Sale’s fastball touched 100.1 miles per hour during the outing, his hardest pitch recorded since 2018, and he used it to great effect against Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani struck out twice swinging and did not manage a hit out of the infield until the eighth inning, a testament to how dominant Sale was all evening.
The performance marked Sale’s fourth double-digit strikeout game of the season and the 95th of his career, a total that ranks seventh all-time among major league pitchers.
Sale needed 109 pitches to get through nine innings, throwing 80 of them for strikes while generating an impressive 20 swings and misses from the Dodgers lineup.
The only run of the game came off the bat of a Brave who homered on the very first pitch of the contest, a leadoff blast into the right-field Chop House restaurant off Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
That home run was the fourth leadoff shot of the season for the hitter responsible and the 22nd homer of his overall campaign in what proved to be the decisive blow.
Yamamoto was sharp in a losing effort, allowing just four hits while striking out eight batters across 6? innings of work for the Dodgers.
The victory gave the NL East-leading Braves a 5-1 edge in the season series against the Dodgers, who themselves lead the NL West, making the sweep a significant statement win.
Braves shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, entering the game hitting just .078, was rewarded with a starting spot after his game-winning pinch-hit single in Wednesday night’s 6-5 victory over Los Angeles.
Kim made the most of his opportunity on Thursday, singling and stealing second base in the third inning to contribute to Atlanta’s winning effort.
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