Sale bolsters Cy Young case with 15th win as Braves sweep Twins

MINNEAPOLIS -- Chris Sale made history on Wednesday as he made another argument for why he should be the favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award.

When Sale struck out Jose Miranda in the first inning of the Braves’ 5-1 win over the Twins at Target Field, he claimed a record previously held by some pretty good company: Hall of Famers Warren Spahn and Tom Glavine.

Sale’s second strikeout of the game gave him 193 on the season, the most ever by a Braves left-hander in a single regular season. Spahn set the mark in 1950 with 191 strikeouts. Glavine raised the bar to 192 in 1991.

Now the record belongs to Sale, a player who understands and appreciates the history of the game and of this Braves franchise. But he’s got his sights set a bit higher right now.

“I do appreciate that. I know some of the guys who’ve been in this organization and I have a lot of respect for those guys,” Sale said. “But at the same time, I’ve got a job to do. Whoever I’m pitching against next doesn’t give a damn about any of that. They’re coming for me, so again, I appreciate it, but I’ve still got some work to do.”

Sale (15-3) dropped his season ERA to 2.58, tying him with Detroit’s Tarik Skubal for the Major League lead in wins and ERA (among qualified players) this season. He also tied San Diego’s Dylan Cease for the most strikeouts this season with 197, sparking not only Cy Young buzz but giving him a legitimate chance of winning pitching’s Triple Crown.

“Expectations are really big right now because he’s been doing that. You expect him to do well because he has been,” manager Brian Snitker said. “This is not a small sample anymore.”

The fourth inning provided a glimpse of Sale at the top of his game. Manuel Margot led off with a single and moved to third when Ryan Jeffers’ fly ball to right landed just inside the line and bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double.

“That was a make-or-break moment for him,” catcher Sean Murphy said. “That’s one of those situations where you see if you can minimize this and not turn it into a huge crooked number.”

Sale didn’t just minimize the threat -- he completely neutralized it. He struck out Miranda, then walked Carlos Santana to load the bases. Sale then struck out Willi Castro and got Christian Vázquez on a weak roller to shortstop to keep the Twins off the scoreboard.

“That’s, to me, why that guy’s the front-runner for the Cy Young, because that’s not the first time he’s done that,” Snitker said. “We won a game 1-0 in San Francisco, and he had first-and-third, nobody out in the first inning, and they didn’t score. He’s unbelievable when he gets his back to the wall like that, how he reaches back and can find a way to get out of it. That’s why he’s got 15 wins.”

A similar scenario played out in the sixth, when the Twins finally did score to tie the game. Margot led off with a double, and Jeffers followed with a sharp single to right. Margot hesitated for a second, but he was waved home, and Jorge Soler’s throw beat him with plenty of time to spare.

Miranda followed with a single, and after Santana popped out for the second out, Castro hit a ground ball just out of the reach of a diving shortstop Orlando Arcia, scoring Jeffers to tie the game at 1. But Sale struck out Vázquez on a wicked slider to strand two runners on base.

“I think sometimes in those situations, I kind of rear back a little bit more and try to keep it there, especially in a close game,” Sale said.

Overall, it was a great three days in Minnesota for the Braves, who have won five straight road games and are 13-5 overall since August 10, the most wins of any NL team in that span.

The next stop is Philadelphia, where the Braves will meet the first-place Phillies in a four-game set this weekend. Atlanta, which holds the third Wild Card spot, is five games behind the Phils in the NL East.

“Winning series, that’s kind of what you set your sights on, but to sweep a team, especially these guys, these guys are more than likely going to the playoffs. They’re a great squad,” Sale said. “Especially with where we’re going next, going into Philly, it’s a good time to have a happy flight.”