Chris Sale needed one strikeout in the fifth inning Friday night to join a list 27 names long. He got it against Ezequiel Duran, and the 2,700th strikeout of his career came in the middle of an evening the Atlanta Braves had already turned into a formality. Atlanta beat the Texas Rangers 15-1 at Truist Park in its first game after the All-Star break.
Sale worked seven innings, gave up two hits, walked nobody and struck out six. He has now thrown 105 innings this season with a 2.06 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP and 123 strikeouts, and he improved to 10-6. There was no drama in any of it. Texas put two runners on base against him all night and never had a man reach third.
The offense did not wait for him. Drake Baldwin drove a three-run homer into the Atlanta bullpen in the fourth for a 5-0 lead and finished 3-for-4 with a walk and five RBI, the biggest game of a season that now reads .261 with 16 home runs and 51 RBI in 73 games. Matt Olson homered for the 26th time and reached base four times on two hits and two walks. Austin Riley added his 10th, a welcome sight from a bat hitting .210 on the year.
Nineteen hits were spread across the lineup. Michael Harris II had two doubles and three RBI. Jim Jarvis, Ozzie Albies and Mauricio Dubón each had two hits. Victor Mederos, who followed Sale with two innings of relief, singled and drove in two.
Texas starter Cal Quantrill took the loss after four innings in which he allowed 11 hits and six runs. The Rangers’ only run came on a Nicky Lopez single. By the late innings Texas had catcher Kyle Higashioka pitching an inning, and he gave up three runs.
Atlanta is 56-40 and leads the National League East by three games over Philadelphia. The lead is real without being comfortable. What Friday established is that the rotation’s best arm came out of the break in exactly the form he was in before it.
For fantasy managers, Sale remains an every-start play and his ratios are carrying entire pitching staffs. Baldwin has become a top-tier catcher option and should be started without hesitation. Riley’s home run does not undo a .629 OPS — hold him in deeper formats, but he is not a trusted starter right now. Harris II is the better target: he is hitting .297 with 16 homers and looks fully healthy coming out of the break.
