The Atlanta Braves took on the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton, Florida Tuesday afternoon, with Chris Sale making his spring debut. The first few starts in spring for veterans players are always a bit of crapshoot, as guys are usually just trying to knock the rust off and get a feel for things again. But don’t tell that to Chris Sale, who came out throwing seeds right from the jump this afternoon.
Over 2 innings of work, Sale faced six hitters, recorded six outs, and four via the strikeout. And as impressive as the results were, the stuff was even better.
7 whiffs on 11 swings is some absurd in itself but topping out at 97 mph on his fastball and averaging 95 mph, especially this early in spring, was maybe even more impressive. And this wasn’t against the Pirates AA team. The six hitters Sale faced were O’Neil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Yasmani Grandal, Connor Joe, and Edward Olivares, all whom will be on Pittsburgh’s Opening Day roster, and most likely in their starting lineup.
Chris Sale tossed two scoreless innings and struck out four in his Braves debut.
Fastball averaged 94.9 mph and topped out at 97.1.
— Kris Willis (@Kris_Willis) February 27, 2024
Owen Murphy, one of Atlanta’s top pitching prospects, followed Sale for the third inning and things could’ve gone better for the young right-hander. He started his frame with a strikeout of Rowdy Tellez, but then allowed a double, a single, and a walk to three consecutive hitters before striking out Bryan Reynolds for the second out. Ke’Bryan Hayes ruined the party after that by launching a grand slam to center field, and tagging Murphy for 4 earned runs in 2⁄3 of an inning of work. Murphy was working 94-95 with his fastball and did record two strikeouts, he just couldn’t get that last out to limit the damage
Daysbel Hernandez came on to pitch the fourth inning, gave up a single and walked but otherwise no damage in a scoreless frame.
The rest of the game was pitched by a collection of minor leaguers and organizational arms, and I’m going to be honest, it didn’t go well. The game was 4-4 when Daysbel Hernandez finished the fourth inning and then by the eighth inning, the score was 13-4 Pirates. Welcome to Spring Training.
Offensively, the only regular the Braves had in the lineup today was Sean Murphy, who went 2-3 with two RBI singles. Atlanta actually scored 4 runs in the first three innings, with David Fletcher and Murphy providing most of the damage and giving the young pitchers coming up an early 4-0 lead to work with.
While only one starter, Atlanta did have a a bunch roster hopefuls play in the game with JP Martinez, Fletcher, Jordan Luplow, Eli White, Forrest Wall, and Andrew Velazquez all appearing. Martinez had a double and two runs scored, Fletcher had two singles and a walk in 3 plate appearances, Luplow went 0-3, and White, Wall, and Velasquez all had one single in the game. With the regular season starting lineup pretty much all ready set, bench jobs are what this group of players are going to be hunting this spring.
When the game finally got the finish line, the Pirates won 13-4, securing their first win of spring and dropping the Braves to 1-4. Yes, they actually do keep W/L records in Spring Training for… reasons.
One game note, Brian Snitker was ill and was not at the park today. Bench coach Walt Weiss filled in as manger.
The Braves continue their Spring Training schedule Wednesday afternoon in Clearwater, Florida taking on the Phillies in their home park. AJ Smith-Shawver is scheduled to pitch for the Braves against Tyler Phillips of the Phillies. The game is scheduled for 1:05 pm EST.
