Chris Sale won his fifth straight start last night in dominant fashion. The Braves veteran right-hander struck out nine batters, which was his third consecutive start with at least nine strikeouts, and didn’t walk a single batter in his seven innings of work. Sale, who has never won a Cy Young award in his career, is certainly starting to form a Cy Young winning resume, and The Morning Shift talked about it earlier today.
“It’s not so much what the stats say, it’s how dominant he is right now.” Mike Johnson said, and Sale has without a doubt been dominant, but the stats are even starting to back that up now as the season gets into full swing.
Beau Morgan believes Sale’s slider is the pitch that can be the difference between Chris being just a good pitcher or a Cy Young candidate when it’s at its best.
“He’s one of those players that when he has a certain pitch working he becomes dominant. The slider is working and it has turned him from good to dominant during this stretch.” Morgan said.
While it’s very important Sale has his pitches working for him, health seems to be the main reason for his resurgence this season, and if Chris can stay consistent and most importantly stay healthy he may finally win his first Cy Young award in year one with the Braves.
