Braves ace Chris Sale out for Wild Card Series vs. Padres

Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale, the favorite for the National League Cy Young Award, is out for the Wild Card Series against the San Diego Padres because of back issues.

Sale was a last-minute scratch Monday from the final game of the regular season, the nightcap of a makeup doubleheader against the New York Mets.

Manager Brian Snitker said the Braves will be without their top starting pitcher when they face the Padres in a best-of-three series that begins Tuesday. The Braves will reassess Sale’s status if they advance to the Division Series.

“He wants to step up,” Snitker said. “We’re hoping that with some more rest or whatever, we can get him right and get to the next round.”

Journeyman Grant Holmes stepped in for Sale against the Mets, throwing one-hit ball over four innings as the Braves won 3-0 to clinch a wild-card berth. New York also made the playoffs with a thrilling 8-7 victory in the first game of the twin bill, while the defending NL champion Arizona Diamondbacks were eliminated.

All three teams finished 89-73, but the Braves and Mets held the season-series tiebreakers over the Diamondbacks.

Snitker said Sale (18-3, 2.38 ERA) has dealt with back issues periodically all season, though the issue became more problematic after his most recent start, a five-inning stint against Cincinnati on Sept. 19 that was notable for a drop in velocity.

“I think he felt it in Cincinnati, but it’s something he’s had off and on all year,” Snitker said. “He knows how to deal with it.”

Sale was scheduled to start last Wednesday against the Mets, but the game was rained out. He kept getting pushed back, with Snitker insisting that he was simply trying to save the left-hander for an elimination game.

General manager Alex Anthopoulos insisted the latest round of back spasms only cropped up after a throwing session on Sunday.

“He’s been throwing all week just to keep his arm going,” Anthopoulos said. “He went out to the cages to throw. He came in after and told us his back was tight. We talked to him about it and he told us he’s pitched with worse.”

Anthopoulos said it was decided before the start of the doubleheader that Sale would not be able to go. Holmes said he got the word he was starting the second game about a half-hour before taking the mound.

“The more we talked about it, this was the right thing,” Anthopoulos said. “This is not an (injured list) thing. This is a day-to-day thing. If we could have him pitch and it was safe, we would do that. Regardless, we’re going to need him where we want to go. We’re going to need him going forward.”

Snitker made the injury sound more serious after the doubleheader, conceding that Sale will not be available until the second round at the earliest.

It was a discouraging setback for Sale, who had battled injuries since 2018 but made it to the closing days of his first season with the Braves without any major issues.

Now, the team is left pondering its options, which include bringing up a pitcher from the Triple-A roster to take Sale’s spot against the Padres.

Top prospects Hurston Waldrep and AJ Smith-Shawver have continued throwing since the end of the minor league season. So has Ian Anderson, who has struggled with injuries since going 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA over eight starts in the 2020 and ’21 postseasons.

“They’re all going to be options,” Snitker said.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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