Braves bats back shaky Sale in 8-2 win over Diamondbacks

The Atlanta Braves singled and doubled their way to their sixth win in seven tries against the Dimaondbacks on Friday night, recording 11 hits on their way to an 8-2 win.

The pitching matchup of Chris Sale and Zac Gallen carried a ton of name value, but on Friday night, both pitchers painfully labored through the early innings with no semblance of command.

The Braves did something in the second inning that was a sight for sore eyes — string together a bunch of hits (without the benefit of a homer) to put up a crooked number. Michael Harris singled and Eli White bounced a ball down the left field line to plate the first run of the game. Arizona native Alex Verdugo followed with a sky-scraping bloop double that landed perfectly on the left field line to make it 2-0. Austin Riley followed with an RBI single to make it 3-0.

In the fourth, as Sale logged his 90th (!) pitch, Arizona trimmed the lead by one with a two-out single by way of Jorge Barrosa.

Sale’s stuff looks fine and his fastball velocity was in the mid-upper 90s on Friday. There were many two-strike counts where Sale just couldn’t put Arizona’s hitters away. He just doesn’t have any command of the baseball. It seems to be a mechanical issue at this point, and hopefully one the coaching staff can figure out immediately.

Gallen only lasted five innings himself before giving way to the bullpen. He threw 59 pitches the first two innings and managed to settled in after the second.

The Braves scratched across two more runs in the sixth. With two on and two out, Eli White chopped a ball on the infield. Eugenio Suarez had to rush his throw from third and skipped it, allowing a run to come home and score. Nick Allen followed with an RBI single the other way that just snuck past the second baseman to make it 5-1.

In the bottom of the seventh, Dylan Lee entered and nearly surrendered a two-run shot to Corbin Carroll, but the call was overturned on replay and went just wide of the foul pole. It would have cut the lead to 5-3 but mercifully did not.

In the eighth, the Braves broke the game wide open. Sean Murphy doubled, Ozzie Albies doubled and Eli White singled to push the score to 7-1. Riley added another base knock the extend the lead to 8-1.

The Diamondbacks scored one against Jesse Chavez in the 8th, but that would be all she wrote.

The Braves have won six of seven. Their record is 11-14.

If you didn’t stay up late to watch, a tidy summary of the night’s action is here:

The series continues Saturday night in Phoenix as Grant Holmes is set to face righty Merrill Kelly, who enters with a 3-1 record, 4.73 ERA, 4.26 FIP and 4.67 xFIP. Holmes will need to have his command against an Arizona lineup that ranks near the top of the league in walk rate and on base percentage. First pitch is a little earlier at 8:10 p.m. ET.

Related Posts

“Mets vs Pirates at Citi Field: Official Game Time, Confirmed Starters, Live Viewing Info, and Can Pittsburgh Bounce Back After Opening Day Loss?”.ll 👇👇👇

📰 MLB Preview: Mets vs Pirates – Citi Field (Game on March 28, 2026) ⚾ Match Overview The New York Mets host the Pittsburgh Pirates in Game…

🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Dallas Cowboys Receive Major Caleb Downs Update – NFL Insider Drops Bombshell! The latest intel could be a game-changer for the Cowboys’ future plans, with all eyes now on the promising young talent. What does this mean for the team’s defense moving forward? Only time will reveal..ll 👇👇👇

Dallas Cowboys Eyeing Potential Game-Changer with No. 12 Pick in 2026 NFL Draft PITTSBURGH, PA — The 2026 NFL Draft is just around the corner, and the…

🚨BREAKING: “SKY-HIGH tіcket рrіceѕ, but worth every рenny” — Dodgerѕ’ oрenіng dаy becomeѕ MLB’ѕ 2026 moѕt рremіum exрerіence! Fаnѕ аre flockіng to Loѕ Angeleѕ for whаt’ѕ ѕhаріng uр to be one of the moѕt memorаble oрenіng dаyѕ іn bаѕebаll hіѕtory. Wіth рrіceѕ ѕoаrіng, іѕ іt the ultіmаte gаme-dаy exрerіence or too much to раy for? 👀🔥👇👇

Loѕ аngeleѕ — іf you wаnt to exрerіence bаѕebаll аt the hіgheѕt level, you’ll hаve to раy the рrіce. аnd for the Loѕ аngeleѕ Dodgerѕ, Oрenіng Dаy…

🚨BREAKING: “I COULDN’T ABANDON IT” – Romаn Anthony reѕcueѕ crіtіcаlly іll homeleѕѕ dog, аdoрtѕ іt, аnd cаreѕ for іtѕ recovery аheаd of the Red Sox’ѕ 2026 ѕeаѕon. Thіѕ heаrtwаrmіng аct of kіndneѕѕ hаѕ fаnѕ іn аwe аѕ the young ѕtаr ѕhowѕ hіѕ comраѕѕіonаte ѕіde. Wіll thіѕ geѕture brіng а new ѕраrk to the Red Sox’ѕ ѕeаѕon, or іѕ іt juѕt the begіnnіng of Anthony’ѕ journey both on аnd off the fіeld? 👀💖👇👇

Boѕton — Not а home run, not а hіghlіght рlаy on the court, but the ѕtory thаt moved Red ѕox fаnѕ the moѕt аheаd of the 2026…

🚨BREAKING: “BRING THE CHAMPIONSHIP HOME…” — A touchіng meѕѕаge from Gаrrett Crochet’ѕ wіfe аѕ the Red Sox exрlode on oрenіng dаy of 2026! The рowerful ѕtаrt to the ѕeаѕon hаѕ fаnѕ excіted, wіth а рerѕonаl meѕѕаge fuelіng even more раѕѕіon. Could thіѕ be the yeаr the Red Sox brіng home the tіtle? 👀🔥👇👇

Boѕton — іt’ѕ not juѕt аbout ріtcheѕ, not juѕt аbout the numberѕ on the ѕcoreboаrd; ѕometіmeѕ, whаt mаkeѕ а moment ѕрecіаl comeѕ from behіnd the ѕtаdіum lіghtѕ,…

BREAKING NEWS: “DAD, FIGHT LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO…” — A HEARTBREAKING MESSAGE FROM FREDDIE FREEMAN’S SON BEFORE OPENING DAY AS HIS RELAPSE COMEDY.

Los Angeles — Not the cheers, not the dazzling lights of Opening Day, but a moment of silence enveloped the Dodgers as Freddie Freeman choked back tears…