LOS ANGELES -- Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss said he has "zero regrets" about pitching Chris Sale out of the bullpen in the prior round, even though it prevented him from starting Game 2 of the National League Division Series on Sunday night.
Sale was originally lined up to start Sunday at Dodger Stadium on the normal four days' rest, but the Braves used him for four outs in the late stages of a win-or-go-home Game 3 of the wild-card series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday night. Because of that, Sale didn't start against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 -- an important matchup given the Braves' 5-3 loss in Saturday's opener of the best-of-five series.
The Braves instead went with their third straight bullpen game, starting with lefty Ray Kerr. Sale will start Game 3 in Atlanta on Tuesday.
"At the end of the day, we want full-strength Chris Sale," Weiss said. "I know him at 80% is really good, but that's what it came down to. We've given him extra rest all year, and it's served him very well. It allowed him to do what he did the other night, I think.
"... Not sure you're getting the best version of him pitching [Sunday]. We're certain we will pitching Game 3."
Sale, 37, put together another Cy Young-caliber season in 2026, going 14-9 with a 2.16 ERA in 162⅔ innings. His best start came against the Dodgers on Aug. 27, when he pitched a shutout and reached triple digits with his fastball. Sale made 25 of his 27 starts with five or more days off in between. It was part of the Braves' efforts to preserve him for a full season but also to do what he did with their season on the line.
In the eyes of some rival executives, though, that appearance might have been unnecessary.
The Braves were leading by four with two outs in the eighth inning when Sale was summoned to face Bryce Harper. Given his usage all season, the move surprised many. That he came back out to pitch the entire ninth inning surprised even more. All told, Sale faced five batters and threw 21 pitches.
Sale's presence is even more crucial to a Braves team that has seen its starting rotation thin out for the playoffs.
Ronald Acuna Jr., the Braves' star right fielder, gave a brief pause and an awkward smile when asked in the interview room about Sale not starting Game 2.
"I don't know what I'm going to say about this because I can't control that," Acuna said. "I can control what I can control. So today we go out and try to win. I'm doing my best, my team, too, and we'll see what happens today."
Asked if Sale wanted to start Game 2, Weiss said: "Chris always wants to throw. Sometimes you have to take it out of their hands because he'd pitch every day if we asked him to. Yeah, we know our club very well. We know Chris Sale very well. That's a decision we made to pitch him in Game 3."