'I Feel Amazing': Chris Sale Walks Into Walt Weiss' Office, Then Finishes Off the Phillies

Walt Weiss had decided he wasn't going to ask. Chris Sale had started Game 1 on Tuesday, and Thursday was supposed to be his throw day. The Braves manager knew that if he raised the idea of pitching in Game 3, Sale would say yes no matter how he felt.

So Sale raised it himself. When Weiss got to his office Thursday afternoon, Sale was sitting across from his desk. "He looked at me and he said, 'I feel amazing,'" Weiss said. "I said, 'Well, let's talk.'"

Hours later, Sale got the final four outs of a 6-2 win over Philadelphia that ended the National League Wild Card Series. It's the first time Atlanta has ever beaten the Phillies in a playoff series.

Harper, with two outs in the eighth

The plan was for Sale to see the top of the order in the eighth or ninth. It worked out exactly that way. He came out of the bullpen with two outs in the eighth to face Bryce Harper, and Truist Park lost its mind.

I felt like I took about two or three steps to get to the mound. As soon as I crossed that bullpen door, this place went crazy.

He got through the eighth and finished the ninth after Alec Bohm led off with a single. At one point he chased a Bryson Stott pop-up toward Austin Riley so hard that he nearly called off his third baseman. "If me and him go toe-to-toe, I might lose that battle," Sale said of Riley, who has about 45 pounds on him.

"I've run out of superlatives for Chris Sale," Weiss said.

The early lead

Sale's appearance protected a lead the Braves built right away. Michael Harris II hit a three-run homer in the first inning, and Ray Kerr, making just his 10th appearance of the season, started on the mound. In Game 1, Sale had set postseason career highs with 6⅓ innings and nine strikeouts.

Philadelphia had eliminated Atlanta in both 2022 and 2023 even though the Braves won the division each time. This time the NL East champions held serve.

Next up are the Dodgers. Game 1 of the NLDS is Saturday at 4 p.m. ET in Los Angeles on FOX, and Game 2 is Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on FS1. Both are live on TVRivo.