Chris Sale took the ball for the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night, opening against the Mets at 8:08 p.m. ET with a series win on the line. It was the kind of start Atlanta had been waiting on: Sale on the mound, New York opposite him, and a holiday crowd watching a game that mattered beyond the calendar.
The Braves entered the night trying to secure their first series win since June 20th, a dry spell that followed an absolutely miserable June. They had hit a handful of homers on Friday night, and they were hoping that would be more than a brief burst before the offense went quiet again. Sale had been brilliant of late and all year, but since May Atlanta's offense had kept his work from turning into wins, turning strong outings into reminders of what the team still lacked.
That is why this July 4 matchup drew so much attention. It was a national TV game on the 250th anniversary of the great country's founding, and the Braves needed more than a clean pitching line from Sale. They needed the bats to follow through for once, because one hot night from the starter could not erase a month-long struggle at the plate. Since May, the gap between Sale's pitching and Atlanta's results had defined too many of these nights.
Sean Manaea started for New York, so the Braves were not getting a soft landing. They also got a small jolt before first pitch with 'Kenny Powers' back for the start, a reminder that Atlanta was reaching for anything that might break the pattern. The club's search for an offensive spark has already shaped other moves around the roster, from the Atlanta Braves Schedule taking a back seat to Matt Olson's ironman run to Hunter Stratton designated for assignment by the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday and Atlanta Braves Schedule: Ronald Acuña Jr. hits IL again with left hamstring strain.
For Sale, the assignment was plain. Keep doing what he has been doing and hope the Braves finally meet him halfway. If Atlanta could not turn that into a win on Saturday, the problem would not be the pitcher, and no amount of holiday stagecraft would hide that for long.
