Chris Sale took the mound on Friday for the Atlanta Braves for his final start of the 2025 Grapefruit League campaign. He went out there and got payback against the Tampa Bay Rays for a rough day back on March 10.
Sale pitched four scoreless innings allowing three hits and a walk while punching out five. He needed 31 pitches to get his outing. If not for trying to keep him rested for Opening Day and trying to get AJ Smith-Shawver in for reps, he might have stayed for another couple of innings.
Part of this final test was to see how he adjusted when up against the same team in a rematch. He went above and beyond to bounce back.
The reigning National League Cy Young Award and Triple Crown winner finishes his Spring Training run with a 2.79 ERA in five starts. He stretched out a bit more than he did the previous spring. He threw 19 1/3 innings compared to 14 2/3 innings in five Spring Training starts in 2024. He also had a 0.88 WHIP and a .179 opponent’s average.
These are Spring Training stats, so they obviously need to be taken with a grain of salt. However, given his track record heading into last season, having a good Spring Training. The fact that he participated in Spring Training at all is also promising. Before last season, the last time time he pitched in Spring Training was 2019.
Sale came in and was full speed ahead. Spring Training doesn’t matter necessarily for a lot of players. In his case, it certainly does.
He finished last season with an 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP, 174 ERA+ and 225 strikeouts across 177 2/3 innings. Along with the Cy Young and Triple Crown, he won the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award as well as his first career Gold Glove.
Fangraphs projects Sale will finish 2025 with a 14-8 record and a 3.07 ERA with 230 strikeouts in 182 innings pitched over 31 starts.
The next time Sale will take the mound is in San Diego against the Padres for Opening Day March 27. First pitch is set for 4:10 p.m. EDT.
