Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale, who is a top candidate for the National League Cy Young Award, will not play in the Wild Card Series against the San Diego Padres due to back problems.
Sale was removed from the last game of the regular season, a makeup doubleheader against the New York Mets, just before it started on Monday.
Manager Brian Snitker confirmed that the Braves will be without their best starting pitcher for the best-of-three series that begins Tuesday. They will evaluate Sale’s condition again if they move on to the Division Series.
“He wants to step up,” Snitker said. “We’re hoping that with some more rest or whatever, we can get him right and get to the next round.”
Grant Holmes, a player with a less established career, took Sale’s place against the Mets and pitched four innings, allowing just one hit, which helped the Braves win 3-0 and secure a wild-card spot.
The Mets also made the playoffs with an exciting 8-7 win in the first game of the doubleheader, while the defending NL champion Arizona Diamondbacks were eliminated.
All three teams ended the season with a record of 89-73, but the Braves and Mets had tiebreakers over the Diamondbacks based on their season series results.
Snitker mentioned that Sale (18-3, 2.38 ERA) has faced back issues throughout the season, but the problem worsened after his last outing against Cincinnati on September 19, where he experienced a drop in speed.
“I think he felt it in Cincinnati, but it’s something he’s had off and on all year,” Snitker said. “He knows how to deal with it.”
Sale was supposed to pitch last Wednesday against the Mets, but the game was postponed due to rain. His start kept getting delayed, as Snitker was trying to save him for an important game. General manager Alex Anthopoulos stated that the latest back spasms appeared only after a throwing session on Sunday.
