Sale Pitched Game 2

Five days ago I wrote a piece called "Chris Sale Can't Pitch Game Two."

Chris Sale just pitched Game 2. At Yankee Stadium. Against a former Cy Young winner.

He lost.

Sale threw six innings, struck out eight, allowed three earned runs. His streak of 18 consecutive starts giving up three or fewer is the longest in baseball. By every metric that matters, the man did his job. And the Braves still lost 5-4 because a balk — a BALK — scored the tiebreaking run, and the bullpen handed back two more on solo shots.

Friday night the closer blew it. Saturday afternoon a leg twitch and two solo homers blew it. Two games, two elite pitching matchups, two losses. Different villain every night, same ending.

The Braves are 70-47. That's not a crisis. Nobody rational is calling this a crisis.

But here's what I said on August 3 and I'll say it louder now: this team's margin for error behind Chris Sale is razor-thin, and October doesn't give you margins. Sale just pitched the exact kind of game you need your ace to pitch in a playoff series. Dominant starter, tight game, one-run deficit in the late innings. He was excellent. They lost anyway.

Tomorrow's Game 3 is the sweep game. If they lose it, I'll write the column this city doesn't want to read yet.

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