The Atlanta Braves will send ace Chris Sale to the mound against the visiting Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday as they try to end a three-game losing streak.
The Reds beat the Braves 4-1 on Monday in the opener of a three-game series, the first meeting between the teams this season.
Sale (13-3, 2.70 ERA) is expected to face Cincinnati right-hander Nick Martinez (3-5, 3.88), who will make his first start since May 22.
Sale will be going for his fourth straight victory. In his latest start, the left-hander beat the San Diego Padres on July 14, pitching five innings and allowing one run on four hits. It was the 10th time in 18 starts that he has allowed no more than one run.
With the victory over San Diego, Sale became the sixth pitcher in Braves franchise history to collect at least 13 wins before the All-Star break, according to TSN. John Smoltz had been the most recent Atlanta pitcher to accomplish the feat, racking up 14 wins ahead of the break in 1996.
“A warrior,” Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud said of Sale. “Just ready to pitch any time he has the ball. Wants the ball every inning. He’s not afraid of anybody, and I think that speaks volumes to any pitcher, especially when somebody comes back from a little rut that he had in his career. To come back and be who he is and who he was is pretty special.”
In his only previous start against Cincinnati, Sale yielded one run and five hits in 3 2/3 innings back on June 1, 2023.
Martinez has made 28 appearances this season, five of them starts. He has recorded three consecutive scoreless appearances out of the bullpen, with the most recent one coming on July 14 against the Miami Marlins. Martinez pitched one inning in that outing.
This could be a showcase game for Martinez, whose name has been connected to the Baltimore Orioles in trade rumors.
Martinez has made four career appearances (three starts) against Atlanta, going 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA.
The Reds have drawn some inspiration from a bus-ride talk on Sunday led by veteran catcher Luke Maile, currently on the 10-day injured list with a herniated disc.
“What he said was fantastic. It was perfect timing,” Reds right-hander Hunter Greene said. “It was professional and we needed it. He’s been a leader all year. It definitely motivated me. I know it motivated the rest of the team.
“When you have somebody like that who cares a lot and puts himself in position to be a leader and to pick the boys up, it’s always important.”
Cincinnati needed no inspiration on the basepaths on Monday. It stole four bases and leads the major leagues with 143 steals on the season. Elly De La Cruz stole his big-league-leading 49th base.
The Braves could still be without third baseman Austin Riley, who left Monday’s game while the Reds were batting in the ninth inning when his wife went into labor.
Atlanta signed utility man Whit Merrifield on Monday, but he was injured while taking grounders and suffered what was feared to be a fractured finger. X-rays were negative, and Merrifield is day-to-day.
“Can’t make it up,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “This year is something else.”
–Field Level Media
