Sale bolsters Cy Young case with 15th win as Braves sweep Twins
MINNEAPOLIS -- Chris Sale gave up one run over six innings on Wednesday to pick up his 15th win this season, tied for the most in the Major Leagues, as the Braves completed a three-game sweep of the Twins with a 5-1 victory at Target Field.
Sale (15-3) dropped his season ERA to 2.58, tying him with Detroit’s Tarik Skubal in both categories. He also set the team record for most strikeouts in a single regular season by a left-hander. He now has 197 on the season.
Jorge Soler gave the Braves an early 1-0 lead when he homered in the first inning against Twins starter David Festa (2-4).
But the rookie right-hander settled down after that, allowing just one more hit and a walk while fanning seven over six-plus innings.
Sale escaped a big jam in the fourth inning, when Manuel Margot led off with a single and moved to third on Ryan Jeffers’ ground-rule double. After striking out Jose Miranda, Sale walked Carlos Santana to load the bases. But the Twins couldn’t cash in, as Sale struck out Willi Castro and got Christian Vázquez on a weak roller to shortstop.
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 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.
However, Festa opened the seventh inning by walking Marcell Ozuna, and Twins manager Rocco Baldelli made the call to the bullpen, bringing on lefty Caleb Thielbar to face the heart of the Braves’ order. Matt Olson greeted him with an RBI double, and Ramón Laureano followed with a run-scoring single.
After Michael Harris II fanned for the first out, right-hander Jorge Alcala came on and promptly gave up a single to Arcia, moving Laureano to third. Sean Murphy then hit a chopper in front of the plate. Acala made the flip to Vázquez, who tagged Laureano for the second out.
Then Luke Williams hit a drive to left field that caromed off Margot’s glove on the warning track. The play was ruled a double and both runners scored, giving the Braves a 5-1 lead.