MIAMI — The Atlanta Braves positioned reigning NL Cy Younger Award winner Chris Sale on the 15-day injured record Saturday due to a fractured left rib cage.
“He was doing his workout routines (Friday) and felt like one thing wasn’t proper,” supervisor Brian Snitker stated earlier than the Braves’ recreation Saturday towards the Miami Marlins. “So that they had him checked out and it confirmed what it confirmed.”
In his earlier begin, towards the New York Mets on Wednesday, Sale sprinted off the mound and made a diving cease of a grounder hit by Juan Soto and threw him out for the primary out within the ninth. He then struck out Pete Alonso and was lifted after permitting a single to Brandon Nimmo.
“It is only a freak factor. An unlucky factor,” Snitker stated. “I noticed him after the sport that night time and he was doing his postgame exercise. After which I noticed him the following day and I believe he perhaps felt a bit of uncomfortable the following day. However then (Friday) is when he wished to get it checked out.”
Sale is 5-4 and has a 2.52 ERA by way of 15 begins this season. The 36-year-old left-hander threw a season-high 116 pitches and eight 2/3 innings towards the Mets.
“It is a robust blow for us and him,” Snitker stated. “It was going so good. That is a tough one.”
After six seasons with the Boston Pink Sox, Sale was traded to the Braves in December 2023. Sale received the pitching Triple Crown in his first season in Atlanta, ending with an NL excessive in wins (18) and strikeouts (225) and a league-low ERA of two.38.
Snitker would not have a timeline when his star pitcher will return.
“With bones like that, they have to heal earlier than you can begin the method, however I don’t know how lengthy will probably be,” he stated.
The Braves started Saturday at 34-40 and 11 video games behind NL East-leading Philadelphia. That they had received six of seven, together with a three-game sequence sweep towards the Mets, earlier than dropping the sequence opener at Miami on Friday.
Within the corresponding transfer retroactive to Thursday, the Braves recalled left-handed pitcher Austin Cox from Triple-A Gwinnett.