Sale (ribs) played catch Tuesday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
Sale appears to be throwing again for the first time since he was diagnosed with a fractured left ribcage nearly a month ago. The left-hander was moved to the 60-day injured list earlier this month, making him ineligible to return until the third full week of August.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Moves to 60-day IL
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Atlanta transferred Sale (ribs) to the 60-day injured list Tuesday.
Sale landed on the injured list in late June due to a ribcage fracture. Manager Brian Snitker said last week that the team still expects Sale to return before the end of the season, though the left-hander's move to the 60-day IL ensures that won't be back until at least Aug. 20. The team acquired Hunter Stratton from Pittsburgh on Tuesday, replacing Sale on the 40-man roster, and Didier Fuentes will likely remain Atlanta's fifth starter going forward.
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Braves' Chris Sale: No timeline for return
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Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said Monday that while the team fully anticipates Sale to pitch again this season, it won't have a timeline until it sees how the pitcher's fractured left ribcage heals, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
Sale suffered the ribcage fracture while making a diving play during his start last Wednesday against the Mets and was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday. He will remain with the major-league club on its road trip because the team travels with a machine that Sale will use to help stimulate bone healing. Atlanta should have more on Sale's progress in the coming weeks.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Shelved with rib fracture
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Atlanta placed Sale on the 15-day injured list with a fractured left ribcage Saturday.
Sale made a diving play in the ninth inning of Wednesday's 5-0 win over the Mets and damaged his ribs in the process, resulting in his placement on the IL for the first time this season. He'll be eligible to return from the IL in early July, though it's likely he'll need more than a minimum-length stay. Austin Cox was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to give Atlanta extra bullpen depth in the short term, and the team will likely keep rookie Didier Fuentes in the rotation until Sale is ready to return from the shelf.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Comes up short of shutout
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Sale (5-4) notched the win Wednesday against the Mets, giving up five hits and one walk in 8.2 scoreless innings. He struck out seven.
The All-Star left-hander narrowly missed out on what would've been his fourth career shutout, as Brandon Nimmo poked a bloop single to end the hurler's bid with two outs in the ninth inning. Sale still continued his recent tear on the mound, twirling at least six innings while allowing one run or fewer in his sixth straight start. His slow start to the year is becoming a distant memory, as Sale has drastically improved his 6.17 ERA from April 19 to 2.53 on the campaign following Wednesday's gem. The southpaw boasts a 1.23 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 82:19 K:BB over his last 10 appearances (66 innings), and he's scheduled for a rematch against the Mets early next week.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Back on pitching schedule Wednesday
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Sale is scheduled to make his next start Wednesday against the Mets in Atlanta, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
After striking out a season-high 11 batters in seven innings in his most recent start last Monday in Milwaukee, Sale was denied a two-start week when Atlanta opted to push him off his previously scheduled turn Sunday against the Rockies. Grant Holmes ended up getting the start Sunday, and Sale will now end up returning to the hill on eight days' rest for the second game of the home series versus the Mets. The decision to push Sale back in the schedule wasn't the result of any health concern; instead, Atlanta simply wanted to have the reigning Cy Young Award winner make each of his next three starts against divisional rivals as the 31-39 squad looks to make up ground in the NL East. After Wednesday's outing, Sale will tentatively line up to make his next two starts June 23 on the road against the Mets and June 28 at home versus the Phillies.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Won't start Sunday
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Sale is having his start pushed back from Sunday to a game during Atlanta's upcoming series against the Mets, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
Sale isn't dealing with any disclosed injury, rather Atlanta appears to be saving him for a key divisional series against the Mets. Grant Holmes will step in for Sales' originally scheduled start Sunday against the Rockies.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Fans 11 in victory
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Sale (4-4) earned the win over Milwaukee on Monday, allowing one run on five hits and two walks while striking out 11 batters over seven innings.
Sale was dominant in the win, as he gave up only one extra-base hit and racked up 14 whiffs. The left-hander's 11 punchouts were a season high and marked the fourth time on the campaign he's reached double-digit strikeouts. Sale had an uneven start to the campaign, but he's now given up two or fewer earned runs in 10 straight outings. He's been particularly dominant over his current five-game streak of quality starts, allowing just four runs across 33 frames and posting a 43:12 K:BB during that stretch.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Makes history in win
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Sale (3-3) earned the win Thursday in the second game of a doubleheader against the Phillies, allowing two hits and three walks over six scoreless innings. He struck out eight.
Sale was dominant Thursday, holding a potent Phillies offense scoreless en route to his third win this season. With his eight Ks in Thursday's nightcap, the southpaw reached 2,500 strikeouts for his career, doing so in 2,026 innings -- the fastest pitcher in MLB history to hit that milestone, breaking Randy Johnson's record of 2,107.2 innings, per Anthony Sanfilippo of the Associated Press. After a shaky start to the year, Sale has posted a 1.42 ERA with 54 strikeouts in his last seven outings (44.1 innings). Overall, the reigning NL Cy Young winner's ERA sits at 3.06 with a 1.24 WHIP and 86:19 K:BB across 12 starts (67.2 innings) this season. He'll look to keep rolling his next time out, tentatively scheduled for next week at home against the Diamondbacks.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Punches out seven in no-decision
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Sale took a no-decision in Friday's 2-1 loss to San Diego, allowing one run on four hits and one walk while striking out six across seven innings.
Sale generated 15 whiffs on 95 pitches (64 strikes), and his lone blemish came in the second inning, when he yielded a solo home run to Gavin Sheets. Sale has logged at least seven strikeouts in seven of his last eight starts, and his 78 punchouts across 61.2 innings this season are tied with Garrett Crochet for fifth most in the majors. Sale will take a 3.36 ERA and 1.28 WHIP into his next start, tentatively slated for next week on the road against the Phillies.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Fans eight in seven strong innings
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Sale (2-3) earned the win Friday against the Red Sox after allowing one run on five hits and two walks in seven innings. He struck out eight.
Sale fanned at least eight in his fourth straight start, delivering his third quality start in that span. The star left-hander endured a rough start to the season, which saw him post a 6.17 ERA through five outings, but he's now thrown at least five innings while surrendering two runs or fewer in each of his past five appearances. Sale will aim to further improve his 3.62 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 72:15 K:BB over 54.2 innings in his next start against the Nationals, currently projected for next week.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Fans eight in no-decision
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Sale took a no-decision in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Pirates, allowing three runs (two earned) on eight hits and two walks over 5.2 innings. He struck out eight.
The Atlanta southpaw generated a solid 18 whiffs in this 99-pitch outing, falling one out shy of notching his third consecutive quality start. Despite yielding eight base knocks, only one of the hits went for extra bases -- an Alexander Canario double in the fourth. Through 47.2 frames, Sale owns a 3.97 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 64:13 K:BB. He is currently scheduled to make his next start against one of his former teams, the Red Sox, in Boston next weekend.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Punches out 10 more Tuesday
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Sale tossed 6.2 scoreless innings but did not factor into the decision Tuesday against the Reds. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out 10.
Sale's scoreless outing was matched by Andrew Abbott and the Reds bullpen. He exited at 112 pitches after a walk in the seventh put two on. It's now back-to-back outings of six-plus innings and 10 strikeouts for the veteran left-hander, who's also allowed two runs or fewer in four straight starts. Sale will look to put his mark on a strong two-start week when he faces the Pirates this weekend.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Fans 10 in tough loss
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Sale (1-3) took the loss Wednesday, giving up two runs on five hits over seven innings as Atlanta was downed 2-1 by the Rockies. He struck out 10 without walking a batter.
The veteran lefty was undaunted by pitching at Coors Field, putting together his best performance of the season on 100 pitches (71 strikes), including a massive 24 swinging strikes. Sale appears to be finding his form after a bumpy beginning to 2025, and over his last four starts he's delivered a 3.48 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 29:8 K:BB through 20.2 innings. He'll look to keep rolling in his next outing, which is scheduled to come at home early next week against the Reds.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Labors through 4.1 frames
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Sale didn't factor in the decision Saturday against the Twins. He gave up two runs on six hits with eight strikeouts and three walks over 4.1 innings.
The veteran left-hander walked three batters for the second straight start and failed to complete five frames for a third consecutive outing. It's a stark contrast to his 2024 NL Cy Young campaign, during which Sale made just two starts of fewer than five innings and issued three walks on just four occasions. His 32:7 K:BB through five starts in 2025 looks great, but Sale's 6.17 ERA and 1.63 WHIP leave a lot to be desired.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Struggles again in loss
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Sale (0-2) took the loss against the Rays on Sunday, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks with seven strikeouts over 4.1 innings.
Sale threw 63 of 98 pitches for strikes and limited hard contact, but he failed to complete the fifth inning for a second straight start. The veteran southpaw has yet to go beyond five innings in any of his four outings this season, yielding at least three earned runs in each of the them. As a result, he'll carry a 6.63 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 24:4 K:BB across 19 innings into a home matchup with the Twins next weekend.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Struggles against Philadelphia
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Sale (0-1) didn't factor into the decision Tuesday against the Phillies. He allowed five runs on nine hits while striking out five across 4.2 innings.
Sale gave up three runs in the third inning, and the veteran southpaw allowed a fifth run in the fifth frame on a 462-foot solo homer to center field from Kyle Schwarber. Sale managed to generate 60 strikes on 86 pitches (including 15 whiffs) and has logged 17 strikeouts over his first three starts, but he's also registered a 6.75 ERA and 1.36 WHIP across 14.2 innings. He's tentatively slated to face the Rays on the road this weekend, when he'll look to earn his first win of the 2025 campaign.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Stumbles in sixth inning
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Sale (0-1) was charged with the loss Tuesday against the Dodgers after giving up three runs on four hits and no walks across five-plus innings. He struck out five.
The veteran left-hander was dominant through five frames with just a single and two hit batsmen allowed, but three straight hits to start the sixth inning, including a two-run homer by Mookie Betts, resulted in three runs and soured the performance. Sale has now surrendered three runs over five frames in each of his first two outings of the season, which is an underwhelming start to 2025 for the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Strikes out seven in no-decision
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Sale didn't factor into the decision in Thursday's loss to the Padres, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out seven.
Sale's 2025 campaign got off to a rocky start after Jackson Merrill drove in a pair of runs with a two-out single in the first inning. The reigning NL Cy Young winner would settle in, holding the Padres to one run over his final four innings before departing with a one-run lead. Sale was dominant in his age-35 season last year, posting a 2.38 ERA. 1.01 WHIP and 225 strikeouts in 29 starts. He's currently in line to face the Dodgers on the road in his next outing.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Wraps up spring in style
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Sale gave up three hits and a walk over four scoreless innings during Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays. He struck out five.
The veteran southpaw finishes his spring with a 2.79 ERA and 20:5 K:BB through 19.1 innings. Sale's checkered injury history wasn't erased by last year's National League Cy Young Award -- he hasn't worked 25-plus starts in back-to-back seasons since 2018-19 -- but he's shown no hint of a health concern in camp and looks ready to take the bump for Atlanta on Opening Day, just three days before his 36th birthday.
