{"id":821723,"date":"2026-10-04T23:24:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T23:24:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/821723\/"},"modified":"2026-10-04T23:24:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T23:24:19","slug":"dodgers-benefit-as-braves-chris-sale-choice-sparks-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/821723\/","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers Benefit as Braves\u2019 Chris Sale Choice Sparks Controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Dodgers are dodging Chris Sale<\/a> in Game 2 as the Atlanta Braves go with a bullpen game.<\/p>\n

Why the Braves aren\u2019t pitching Chris Sale<\/p>\n

Braves manager Walt Weiss deployed Sale aggressively in the Wild Card Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, having him pitch Game 1 and Game 3 in relief.<\/p>\n

With Sale out of the mix and a ton of pitching injuries, Weiss had no choice but to roll out a bullpen game in Game 1, but Sale was in the mix for Game 2.<\/p>\n

\"OctOct 1, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale (51) walks on the field after defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in game three of the Wildcard round for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Truist Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The decision came down to how Sale felt, and the skipper made the bold call to have him go in Game 3, where the Braves could be down 2-0.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a conversation this morning. Look, at the end of the day, we want full-strength Chris Sale,\u201d Weiss said to the media, including Dodgers Nation. \u201cI know him at 80 percent is really good, but that\u2019s what it came down to.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve given him extra rest all year, and it\u2019s served him very well. It allowed him to do what he did the other night, I think all the extra rest he\u2019d gotten. He\u2019d be on normal rest from his last start, but he had the outing in between. Not sure you\u2019re getting the best version of him pitching today. We\u2019re certain he will pitch in Game 3.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Weiss is taking a long-term look at Sale, Braves star Ronald Acuna was conflicted about the decision.<\/p>\n

Why the Braves\u2019 decision is causing controversy<\/p>\n

Acuna was asked about Sale not starting Game 2,<\/a> and he paused and took a breath, according to MLB.com\u2019s Mark Bowman, before refraining from commenting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what I\u2019m going to say about this because I can\u2019t control that. I can control what I can control. So today we go out and try to win. I\u2019m doing my best, my team too, and we\u2019ll see what happens today,\u201d Acuna said.<\/p>\n

In the postseason, every edge matters, and for the Dodgers, pushing back a date with Sale puts a big burden on the veteran pitcher to deliver on short rest.<\/p>\n

If the Dodgers take a 2-0 lead, the pressure and questions on Weiss will intensify, and for a rookie manager managing in the postseason for the first time, it could be the nail in the coffin for the NLDS.<\/p>\n

\"Dodgers<\/p>\n

Dodgers Nation<\/p>\n

Get the app for faster news<\/p>\n

GET<\/a> \u00d7 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Los Angeles Dodgers are dodging Chris Sale in Game 2 as the Atlanta Braves go with a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":821724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2394],"tags":[191,46,4166,5,192,919,57,4],"class_list":["post-821723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-atlanta-braves","tag-atlanta","tag-atlanta-braves","tag-atlantabraves","tag-baseball","tag-braves","tag-chris-sale","tag-los-angeles-dodgers","tag-mlb"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/117385223514896121","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=821723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/821724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=821723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=821723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=821723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}