Chris Sale will get his final tuneup before the postseason when he takes the mound for the Atlanta Braves against the visiting Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday.
Cincinnati (73-84) recorded a 4-0 win over Atlanta (92-65) on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series. The win ended the Reds’ two-game losing streak and evened the season series with Atlanta at two victories apiece.
Sale (14-9, 2.18 ERA) will be opposed by Cincinnati’s Andrew Abbott (6-11, 4.70) in a battle of left-handers.
The Braves have taken great pains this season to protect the 37-year-old veteran by giving him additional rest between starts. He has made four starts on six days of rest and four starts on seven days of rest. Sale’s last outing was on Sept. 11 against Philadelphia, giving him 12 days of rest. The setup will allow Sale to start the opener in the first round of the playoffs.
“Obviously, a little bit of an extended break, but we feel like it sets him up for some potential postseason rotation,” Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said. “That was the thought behind it. That’s pretty much what he’s been doing all year and it’s worked out well. It will line up nicely for him.”
In his last start, Sale pitched seven innings and allowed three runs on three hits with two walks and six strikeouts.
Sale has made three career starts against Cincinnati, going 1-0 with a 1.76 ERA. He last faced the Reds in 2025 when he worked 6 2/3 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts.
Sale enters the game with 2,769 career strikeouts and needs four to tie Frank Tanana for 26th on the all-time list. He ranks sixth in the National League with 190 strikeouts in 157 innings this season.
Abbott’s problem has been inconsistency, with one bad outing followed by a solid start. He gave up seven runs against the Cubs on Aug. 29 and eight runs against Milwaukee on Sept. 11 but allowed only two runs (one earned) on Sept. 5 and just one run against the Los Angeles Dodgers last Wednesday.
“His stuff is fine,” Cincinnati manager Terry Francona said. “When he was going through a good streak you could almost see a swagger. Right now that’s probably not there.”
Abbott has made two career starts against the Braves, both in 2025, going 0-0 with a 1.74 ERA.
The Braves may be without right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. He fouled a pitch off his left shin and limped to the dugout in the third inning. X-rays were negative and Acuna was listed as day-to-day.
Cincinnati shortstop Elly De La Cruz hit a solo shot, his 29th homer, and stole a base, his 29th, on Tuesday. He needs one homer and one steal to become only the fourth player in franchise history to have 30 homers and 30 steals in a season. Others in the exclusive club are Brandon Phillips (2007), Barry Larkin (1996) and Eric Davis (1987).
–Field Level Media
