The Evening TiltFriday, August 14, 2026

Two losses on a Friday night. One stings. The other is preseason arithmetic.

Braves

Chris Sale gave Atlanta six innings, one earned run, and nine strikeouts. He lost. That is the entire offensive story in one sentence — their ace was excellent, and it did not matter. Brandon Pfaadt held them to two hits across seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts. The Braves finished with three hits on the night, zero extra-base hits, zero walks. Pfaadt is now 7-0 with a 1.16 ERA since June 30. That stopped being a hot streak several starts ago.

Truist Park had not seen a shutout since June 27. The Braves' Friday home record was 10-0 before tonight. Sale falls to 12-8 with a 2.16 ERA, numbers that deserve run support. At 73-49 with an 8.5-game cushion in the NL East, this is a bruise, not a fracture. But an offense that goes silent against good pitching is an offense that will hear about it in October.

Ellis has the deeper look.

Falcons

Kevin Stefanski's first game as Falcons head coach: Broncos 27, Falcons 7. Before anyone overreacts, the necessary context. Michael Penix Jr. did not play — still on the ACL recovery timeline. Tua Tagovailoa saw two series — three completions on five attempts, 22 yards, one mishandled snap — and exited. What came after was worse.

Cooper Rush finished 7-for-19 with two interceptions and a 6.8 passer rating. Jahdae Barron returned one of those 97 yards for a touchdown. It was 24-0 at halftime. The lone Falcons score: a one-yard quarterback sneak by Jack Strand, an undrafted free agent, which tells you who was on the field when Atlanta finally found the end zone.

This was a depth chart audition. The audition did not go well. Miles laid out what to watch for this morning — his film breakdown is here.

One more thing.

The best offensive play in Atlanta tonight was a one-yard quarterback sneak by an undrafted free agent in a game that does not count. The Braves managed three hits in a game that does. It was that kind of Friday.