Chris Sale Offers Honest Take on Atlanta Braves' Rough Stretch

The Atlanta Braves looked like the best team in baseball for the first two months of the year, opening up a 9.5-game lead in the NL East by June 7.

But the past few weeks have changed the feel around this team, as Atlanta has dropped 12 of its last 16 games and the gap between the Braves and the second-place Philadelphia Phillies sits at just three games.

The offense has dried up, and even some of the best pitching in the league has not been enough to stop the bleeding.

Chris Sale was excellent again on Sunday in San Francisco, striking out 10 and pumping his fastball up to 99 mph against a Giants lineup that includes former Red Sox teammate Rafael Devers.

The 37-year-old went six innings and allowed two runs, one earned, but a pair of errors behind him gave the Giants enough to hang on for a 3-2 win at Oracle Park.

His ERA fell to 2.10 on the season, second in the National League, and 109 strikeouts across 15 starts show he has been dealing all year.

None of that has mattered lately, as the Braves have scored just two runs over Sale's last four starts, dropping his record to 8-6 despite stuff that should have him in the Cy Young conversation.

"This is Major League Baseball," Sale said after the loss. "I don't know if anyone has gone tip to tip without losing a couple series or going through a 10-, 15-game rough stretch. So you know these things are coming. You obviously don't know when they are coming. We just need to do our best job to get out of it."

That goes a long way in a clubhouse dealing with its first real adversity of the year.

Sale has spoken throughout the season about how much he values what Atlanta has built in that locker room, and as a 16-year veteran, he is not the type of pitcher who is going to let a cold stretch shake him.

First-year manager Walt Weiss has been blunt about the skid, saying he is not worried about anyone else and is focused on his own group.

The defense has been sloppy, the bats have gone quiet, and close games that Atlanta was winning early in the year are now tipping the other way.

At 49-33 the Braves still own the best record in the NL, but the margin for error is shrinking.

The talent on this roster has not gone anywhere though, and John Smoltz noted earlier this season that the real version of this Braves team probably falls somewhere between the rough 2025 campaign and their blazing start this year.

A home series against the Cardinals starting Tuesday gives Atlanta a chance to reset, and with even average run support for Sale, the Braves should start winning again.

Sale is doing more than his part, and at some point the rest of the roster needs to follow his lead.