'Crushed' Sale (back spasms) likely unavailable for WC Series

ATLANTA -- Braves manager Brian Snitker wasn’t sure if Chris Sale will accompany the team to San Diego. But he confirmed the top Cy Young Award candidate will likely be unavailable during this week’s Wild Card Series against the Padres.

“We’re hoping, with some more rest, we can get him right and get to the next round,” Snitker said.

Getting to the next round without Sale will be a challenge. The 35-year-old hurler proved all his doubters wrong this year while ranking first in the Majors in both ERA (2.38) and wins (18, tied with Tarik Skubal). His 225 strikeouts ranked second, just three fewer than Skubal’s MLB-leading total.

Sale exceeded all expectations after injuries limited him to a combined 151 innings over the previous three seasons. But his bid to get through this season healthy ended on Sept. 19, when he felt some back discomfort during the second inning of start in Cincinnati. His four-seam fastball dipped below 90 mph during the final two innings of his five-inning effort.

The Braves were hopeful he would be able to pitch when necessary.

“There were days that he would show up and everything would be good, and he's like, ‘I'm good,’” Snitker said. “So we were going to wait for an elimination game. But I don’t think he felt great last night when he [increased his effort level] while throwing.”

Sale immediately told the Braves his back might be a problem. But until he updated them at noon on Monday, they were hoping he would still start the second game of the day’s doubleheader if they still needed a win to reach the postseason.

How confident were the Braves that Sale would be available if necessary on Monday? They had Grant Holmes throw 1 2/3 innings (21 pitches) during Sunday’s loss to the Royals. They then informed him about 30 minutes before Monday’s second game he would pitch instead of Sale. The 28-year-old rookie responded with four scoreless innings in a 3-0, playoff-clinching win over the Mets.

“[Sale] is crushed,” Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said. “There was a little bit of, 'Should he go out there or not?' But ultimately at the end of the day, if you’re not at your best and you don’t ultimately believe you can help your team and you can hurt yourself, it’s not a good outcome across the board.”

Had Sale pitched on Monday, he had a chance to become the first pitcher to lead MLB in wins, ERA and strikeouts since Johan Santana in 2006.