Chris Sale made an excellent diving stop on a grounder by Juan Soto for the first out of the ninth inning to finish off his start against the New York Mets on Wednesday night.
Yet going hard to the ground cost the veteran left-hander a trip to the injured list. The Atlanta Braves announced on Saturday that Sale is going to the 15-day IL with a fractured ribcage. The injury occurred as Sale pitches his best game of the season, with 8 2/3 scoreless innings, five hits and one walk allowed, and seven strikeouts.
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The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner has a 2.52 ERA (third among NL starting pitchers) and 5-4 record in 15 starts, compiling 114 strikeouts in 89 1/3 innings.
With Wednesday’s 5-0 win, the Braves (34-40) had victories in six of their past eight games, part of a stretch during which Atlanta won seven of 10. Perhaps more importantly for the NL East standings, For the Mets, the defeat was their fifth straight in what’s become a seven-game losing streak that’s knocked them out of first place (45-31) in the division.
Sale’s IL stint is backdated to Thursday, which would make him eligible to return on July 3. However, a rib injury could keep him out for a longer period. Sale suffered a stress fracture in his right rib cage before the 2022 season that sidelined him for more than three months.
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