Chris Sale’s strong outing

Chris Sale gave Atlanta six sharp innings Sunday night, holding Cleveland to one earned run and striking out six in a 13-1 Braves win. (mlb.com, espn.com) The game was the Sunday, April 12 matchup at Truist Park, carried by NBC and Peacock on Sunday Night Baseball. Atlanta improved to 10-6, while Cleveland fell to 9-7. (espn.com, espn.com) Sale also reached 2,600 career strikeouts during the outing, a milestone Major League Baseball highlighted in its postgame clip. The left-hander now has 16 strikeouts through his first three starts of 2026. (mlb.com, espn.com) Atlanta’s offense gave him room early and kept adding on, finishing with 19 hits in the 13-1 rout. NBC Sports called it the most hits by any team in a game this season. (nbcsports.com, espn.com) The outing landed after an uneven first two weeks for Sale, who opened the season with six scoreless innings against Kansas City, then allowed six earned runs in four innings at Los Angeles on April 6. Sunday lowered the swings in his early 2026 line and pushed Atlanta’s staff to a league-best 2.50 earned run average in StatMuse’s team rankings. (statmuse.com) Sale entered 2025 as Atlanta’s Opening Day starter after winning the 2024 National League Cy Young Award, with Braves manager Brian Snitker saying that season had “resuscitated” his career. That made Sunday’s national-television start a fresh checkpoint for a pitcher Atlanta still relies on at age 37. (mlb.com) The Braves are back at home Monday, April 13, to open a series against Miami. Sale’s next turn in a five-man rotation would likely come later this week if Atlanta stays on schedule. (seatgeek.com, mlb.com)