Braves’ unnecessary Chris Sale gamble could haunt them in the NLDS

In a winner-take-all Game 3 of the Wild Card series, the Atlanta Braves were going to stop at nothing to try to advance to the NLDS. This included using their 37-year-old ace, who threw 95 pitches just two days prior, Chris Sale, to record the final four outs of the contest, allowing Atlanta to move on. In theory, that sounded good, since the Braves had to win that game and should have been aggressive. The move worked out too, as Sale sent the Phillies packing.

With that being said, given the score of the game and the possible ramifications, using Sale in that big spot is something the Braves might end up regretting in hindsight.

Braves did not have to use Chris Sale to finish off Phillies

Had the Braves been up by a run, nobody would've batted an eye when it came to using Sale. Again, he's the best pitcher on their roster, and they had so much on the line. With that being said, the Braves were up 6-2 in the top of the eighth inning and the Philadelphia Phillies had two outs and nobody on. Not only was the game not particularly close, but it wasn't even a save situation.

Not only did the Braves use Sale to get the final out of the eighth inning, but they used him to pitch the ninth as well. They did this while winning by four runs at home against a Phillies team that had scored more than four runs in a full game just once in their last eight games. There was no reason to believe the Phillies could score four runs in an inning against anybody, so why use Sale in that moment?

Was it cool? Absolutely. Did it get everyone fired up? You bet. Was it needed? Nope. And now, they might be paying the price for using him in that rather inconsequential moment based on what manager Walt Weiss had to say.

Braves might get less out of Chris Sale than expected in NLDS due to unnecessary usage

Weiss didn't rule Sale out of starting Sunday's Game 2 of the Braves' NLDS against the Dodgers, but given the fact that he said they're going to "err on the side of giving him (time to rest) if it's even close," odds are, he probably won't be starting this game. That's a disastrous outcome for Atlanta.

Since Sale started Game 1 of the Wild Card series on Tuesday, he would've been on full rest to start Game 2 of the NLDS. Now that Sale was used in relief, his rest is out of whack, and the Braves don't seem as certain that he'll start Game 2. Sure, he could start Game 3, but doing so would make the odds of him starting another game in the best-of-five series practically zero.

Beating the two-time defending champion Dodgers would be difficult under any circumstances. Beating them with only one start from Sale sounds like a near-impossible scenario. Sale is one of the best pitchers in the National League. He threw a complete game shutout against these very Dodgers in August, outdueling Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the process. Is there anyone else in Atlanta's rotation that you trust to even come close to doing that?

The Dodgers' rotation is historically great, even without Shohei Ohtani. The Braves have done a great job maximizing their rotation talent given the injuries to Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep, but does anyone really trust the likes of Grant Holmes and Tyler Mahle against the loaded Dodgers? I certainly don't, but I do trust Sale. Getting two starts out of him would give the Braves to win those games and only have to steal one other. Having Sale start just once puts immense pressure on the rest of the roster to find a way to steal this series.

Again, had the Braves been up by a run and needed to lean on the future Hall of Famer, nobody would've questioned the move. Using him up four runs against a light-hitting opponent felt foolish at the time, and could be extremely costly if it costs Sale a start in this mega-series.

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