Sale, Snell dazzle in Cy Young-worthy duel

SAN FRANCISCO -- Blake Snell constructed another no-hit bid and Chris Sale strengthened his own Cy Young Award resume. This season’s best pitching duel set the tone in a game decided by Travis d’Arnaud’s bat.

d’Arnaud’s pinch-hit sacrifice fly gave the Braves a 1-0, 10-inning win over the Giants on Monday night at Oracle Park. But the night was dominated by Sale, who notched a season-high 12 strikeouts, and Snell, who carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, just 10 days after no-hitting the Reds.

“Snell, that’s about as good as you’re going to see out there,” Sale said. “Just to be able to grind through that and overcome that, that was big time. That kind of shows what this group is about, being able to do that after a tough night and the start to a tough night tonight.”

One day after blowing a six-run eighth inning lead at Coors Field, the Braves needed only one run to win for just the second time in their past nine games. Time will tell if this win helps them turn things around. But regardless of how the rest of the season goes, this was a night to remember.

“It came as advertised with those two guys,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “They were really dominant.”

Sale surrendered three hits over seven scoreless innings and Snell tallied 11 strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings. The two great southpaws became the fourth pair of opposing pitchers to record more than 10 strikeouts and allow three or fewer hits in the same game. They are the only duo to do this while also allowing no runs.

“That’s what we show up to do,” Sale said. “We love the competition. It was fun for me to get out there and just let loose and keep [the score] where it was and give my team a chance.”

“Personally, today, I wasn’t rooting for him, but outside of that, I’ve been a big fan for a long time,” Snell said of Sale. “Great guy. What he’s had to battle to get where he’s at right now is pretty amazing.”

Snell kept the Braves hitless until Marcell Ozuna opened the seventh inning with a double and Matt Olson reached on a nubber that was fielded to the left of the mound. The Giants hurler escaped that threat with the help of Randy Rodríguez.

Having thrown 98 pitches through the first six innings, Snell wasn’t going to match the no-hitter he completed in Cincinnati on Aug. 2. But he still regretted not burying the 2-2 curveball that Ozuna laced to left field.

“That’s what [Ozuna] does,” Snell said. “I’ve just got to throw it lower. Got to have a better sequence, get ahead. … I’ve got to do a better job late in the game establishing a strike zone or knowing for sure that after the at-bats I’ve had, if I do throw it out of the zone, I don’t get a swing. But I’ve just got to learn. They’re going to be more patient. They want me to get out of the game. I have to see that, understand it and attack.”

Snell has posted a 0.99 ERA over his past seven starts. He hasn’t allowed more than four hits in any of those outings and he has surrendered two hits or fewer five times within that dominant span.

Per Elias, the .097 batting average he has allowed is the fourth-lowest batting average over a seven-start span since the mound moved to its current distance in 1893 (min. 100 batters faced). The only pitchers who have trumped this average are:

• Shohei Ohtani: .087 (Sept. 29, 2022-April 21, 2023)
• Jacob deGrom: .091 (May 9-June 21, 2021)
• Johan Santana: .093 (July 1-Aug. 1, 2004)

“He’s been the hottest starter in the league for a handful of starts anyways now,” Sale said. “But I just had to buckle down.”

Snell recorded three quick strikeouts after walking former Giants teammate Jorge Soler to open the game. Sale responded with an impressive escape act that was necessitated when center fielder Ramón Laureano misplayed leadoff hitter Tyler Fitzgerald’s liner. The Braves ace recorded two quick strikeouts and induced a groundout to kill the threat.

“He wasn’t missing anywhere, and if he was, it wasn’t over the plate,” Giants right fielder Mike Yastrzemski said. “To be trying to face a guy from an arm slot that none of us are used to facing is really tough when there’s no pitches over the heart of the plate. Sometimes you’ve got to tip your cap. He pitched a great game. They were grinding as hard as we were. You’ve got to wear that one a little bit and try and move on to the next day and hope to try and get the offense going a little bit tomorrow.”

Snell retired 17 of the next 19 batters he faced after issuing the leadoff walk to Soler, who returned to Oracle Park for the first time since being traded to the Braves along with Luke Jackson on July 29.

Sale retired 21 of the last 23 batters he faced and began his sixth inning by notching the first of five straight strikeouts. This marked the sixth time the southpaw has recorded 12-plus strikeouts and issued no walks over seven-plus scoreless innings. It was the first time he has done so since he did it for the Red Sox against the Angels on Aug. 8, 2019.

“Chris, he was tremendous out there,” Braves closer Raisel Iglesias said. “His effort deserved an excellent effort from the bullpen as well.”

Melvin said Monday’s clash had an October feel to it, especially given the series’ playoff implications. By taking the series opener, the Braves moved 2 1/2 games ahead of the Giants in the NL Wild Card standings.

Iglesias knew the importance as he more than willingly handled the final two innings for the Braves.

“It felt a little different,” Melvin said. “Especially with the quality of the pitching. It felt like every at-bat, every pitch, there was something riding on it.”