Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale was scratched from his scheduled start in the second game of Monday’s doubleheader against the New York Mets on account of back spasms. The Braves won that game by a 3-0 margin to clinch a playoff berth. Unfortunately for the Braves, Sale’s unavailability will extend into October and their Wild Card Series matchup with the San Diego Padres.
The Braves announced their Wild Card Series roster Tuesday and it does not include Sale, nor Spencer Schwellenbach and Grant Holmes, who started Monday’s doubleheader games and would not be available to pitch this round. Righties Bryce Elder and AJ Smith-Shawver were both added to the roster. Smith-Shawver will start Game 1.
Sale was one of many notable roster decisions for the Wild Card Series as teams had to set their 26-man squads on Tuesday.
Sale, 35, is likely to win this year’s National League Cy Young Award after securing the league’s first pitching triple crown since 2011. (That is, leading in wins, strikeouts, and ERA.) Sale compiled a 2.38 ERA (174 ERA+) and a 5.77 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 29 starts. His contributions were estimated to be worth 6.2 Wins Above Replacement, according to the calculations housed at Baseball-Reference.
Without Sale, the Braves will have to get creative in how they approach their pitching staff against the Padres. Reynaldo López threw an inning during Monday’s doubleheader. Max Fried started on Friday and would be going on short rest, while Charlie Morton threw 75 pitches on Sunday and wouldn’t be able to appear during the Wild Card Series on regular rest.
Atlanta’s Game 1 contest against the Padres is scheduled for 8:38 p.m. ET on Tuesday night. All games will be played at Petco Park in San Diego. Here’s the series schedule.
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