Sale closes out Phillies as Braves advance to face Dodgers — SkimNews
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- Michael Harris II opened the scoring with a three-run homer in the first inning, and all six Braves runs came off homers by Harris, Ozzie Albies, and Matt Olson against Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, and Jonathan Bowlan
- Chris Sale entered with two outs in the 8th to face Bryce Harper, prompting a Truist Park eruption, then retired Bryson Stott, Bryan De La Cruz, and pinch-hitter Otto Kemp to end the game — 1⅓ scoreless innings and 4 outs on his scheduled throw day, two days after a 95-pitch Game 1 start
- Ray Kerr, a 32-year-old lefty making just his fourth career big-league start after rehabbing from Tommy John surgery in 2024, gave the Braves 3⅓ scoreless innings to set up the Sale finish — a surprise start manager Walt Weiss called the reason "everything fell into place"
- Walt Weiss said he wasn't planning to use Sale until the ace showed up uninvited in his office Thursday afternoon saying "I feel amazing," after which the two mapped out a plan to deploy him against the top of the order
- The Braves advance to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS beginning Saturday in Los Angeles; Weiss said he has "no idea" whether Sale can start Game 2 on regular rest after 116 pitches across three days
Why it matters: Atlanta's postseason hinges on whether Sale — who threw 116 pitches across Games 1 and 3 in three days — can make a normal start in the NLDS against a Dodgers team that finished with the NL's best record, with a wild-card series win doing nothing to ease that workload question.
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