Chris Sale took the ball for the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night against the Miami Marlins, a quick turnaround after Atlanta snapped back from what was described as its worst loss of the season. The game was set for Wednesday, May 20 at 6:40 p.m. ET, with radio coverage listed on 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan and La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM.
Sale entered with the kind of form that has made him one of Atlanta’s most reliable starters. He had pitched well enough to win in his previous two starts against the Dodgers and Cubs, but the Braves scored only one run in those games, leaving him with little margin for error. Against Miami, he faced a lineup he knew only in fragments, having had little-to-no previous experience against many of the Marlins hitters.
Janson Junk started for Miami, and his recent numbers gave the Braves a reason to believe they could press him early. Junk had given up at least three runs in four of his nine starts, and two of those four came in his two most recent outings. He allowed four runs over six innings against the Nationals on May 9, then was tagged for seven runs over 5.2 innings against the Rays five days before this game. Those struggles stood in contrast to one of his better turns against Atlanta, when he last faced the Braves in June of last season and gave up one run in five innings during a Miami win.
Sale’s own history against the Marlins was less recent and not especially encouraging. His last start against Miami came in April 2024, and the matchup added another layer to a game that already carried more weight than a normal regular-season night. Atlanta was trying to turn a Tuesday bounce-back into something bigger: a shot at a series win that would keep the club from needing to salvage a split in the finale.
The matchup also came with a few small but meaningful edges to watch. Mike Yastrzemski had five at-bats against Junk and no hits, while Ronald Acuña Jr. had two hits in three previous plate appearances against him. That kind of scattered history can matter when a pitcher is already searching for consistency and a lineup is looking for the first clean inning to break the game open.
For the Braves, the formula was clear. Back Sale to hold the game down, make Junk work from the start, and use the chance in front of them to avoid letting a strong bounce-back win disappear into a routine split. For a team coming off Monday’s low point, this was the kind of game that could start to restore some control.
