Braves turn to Sale to close out Phils in wild-card clincher

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsATLANTA -- Powered by a three-run homer by Michael Harris II in the first inning and an electric four-out relief appearance on a day of rest by ace Chris Sale, the Atlanta Braves finished off the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 in the deciding Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series on Thursday night at Truist Park.The Braves earned their first playoff series win against the Phillies and will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Divisional Series, which begin Saturday.Sale, coming of a strong Game 1 performance in which he had playoff career highs of 6 innings and nine strikeouts Tuesday, came in to throw the last 1 scoreless innings of Game 3 on his throw day.Braves manager Walt Weiss said he woke up Thursday morning not expecting to even have a conversation about Sale's Game 3 availability."I was not going to go to Chris Sale and ask him if he could pitch tonight," Weiss said. "I didn't want to put him in that position because I knew that even if he was hanging, he would tell me yes. So, I was not going to bring it up. But literally as soon as I stepped in my office this afternoon, he was sitting in the chair across from my desk, and he looked at me and he said, 'I feel amazing.' I said, 'Well, let's talk.'"Weiss said he and Sale then mapped out a plan."I told him there was a good chance he was going to get the top of the order at some point in the eighth or the ninth," he said. "It worked out that way. Was hoping he only had to go one, but he had to get to four outs. But what a warrior, man. This guy -- I've run out of superlatives for Chris Sale."The crowd at Truist Park erupted when it was clear it was Sale walking out of the bullpen to face Phillies slugger Bryce Harper with two outs in the top of the eighth inning.Harris called the moment "electric." Sale recognized the temperature changing, too."It was incredible," he said. "I've talked a lot about what this place means to me and how much I love pitching here at home."Then, Sale felt the electricity, too: "I felt like I took about two or three steps to get to the mound. As soon as I crossed that bullpen door, this place went crazy. I can't tell you how appreciative I am of that."Sale's mentality was in action when he shot off the mound after getting Harper to hit a pop fly toward third baseman Austin Riley and almost beat him to the ball."I told [Riley] earlier that I almost called him off," Sale said, chuckling at the possibility of colliding into Riley, who is 45 pounds heavier. "If me and him go toe-to-toe, I might lose that battle."Alec Bohm led off the ninth with a single, but Sale went on to retire Bryson Stott, Bryan De La Cruz and pinch-hitter Otto Kemp in order to cap a rare relief appearance.After throwing 95 pitches in Tuesday's Game 1 win, Sale threw 21 out of the bullpen on Thursday night. Weiss said he wasn't sure if Sale would be able to start in Game 2 against the Dodgers on Sunday."I have no idea," Weiss said. "We weren't even worried about that. It's just put this thing down and then we'll have those conversations later. But yeah, we haven't even talked about that. It was all about tonight."In addition to Sale's relief work, the Braves also got a surprisingly effective start from 32-year-old lefty Ray Kerr, who had made three career big league starts before taking the ball Thursday with the season on the line.Weiss had contingencies if Kerr couldn't get through the Phillies' lineup once."That was a best-case scenario, and he did it," Weiss said. "He got through the top twice, which kept us from using another guy at the top. So Ray -- it all started with Ray. Everything fell into place because of Ray Kerr."Kerr's journey has been long and winding, growing up in foster care, having a late-blooming pro baseball career and most recently rehabbing from Tommy John surgery in 2024 just as he was getting established as a big leaguer in his late-20's."I've dreamed about stuff like this. For it to actually happen, I still haven't even processed it yet," Kerr said, adding that the energy of Atlanta's sold-out crowd helped. "I was feeding off the crowd from the first pitch of the game."Kerr allowed just two baserunners in 3 scoreless innings and had two strikeouts.Sale couldn't help but talk about Kerr's resiliency."I could talk about Ray Kerr for the next two hours," Sale said. "He represents everything a professional athlete should be."Sale added: "We don't win this game without him."The Braves got all six of their runs off home runs from veteran lineup stalwarts Harris, Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson, as Phillies starter Aaron Nola and relievers Zack Wheeler and Jonathan Bowlan had mixed outings. Albies was on the Braves' 2021 World Series team. Harris was still in the minor leagues at that point in his career, though he noted he was still in the building for the NLCS that year."I was there in 2021, I was just in the stands," he said. "I was watching them from the second deck the first two games against the Dodgers walking it off."Harris will get his chance to try to replicate that scenario in the NLDS, beginning with Game 1 in Los Angeles on Saturday.