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Braves pick Ray Kerr for Game 2, set up rested Chris Sale for Game 3 vs. Dodgers
Коротко
The Atlanta Braves will start left-hander Ray Kerr, not Chris Sale, in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday at Dodger Stadium, with Kerr facing two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell. The Braves plan to start Sale on extra rest in Game 3 on Tuesday, saying they wanted him at full strength. Atlanta lost the series opener 5-3 in a bullpen game on Saturday.
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The Atlanta Braves will start left-hander Ray Kerr in Game 2 of the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday at Dodger Stadium, rather than Chris Sale. Kerr will face Dodgers starter Blake Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, according to the Associated Press. Sale is instead scheduled to start Game 3 on Tuesday on extra rest. [ 1 , 2 ]
Atlanta lost the series opener 5-3 in a bullpen game on Saturday, the AP reported. Braves manager Walt Weiss, speaking before Game 2, said the aim was to have Sale at full strength. “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.” [ 2 ]
Kerr, a 32-year-old left-hander, started the Wild Card Series clincher against the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday, throwing 3 1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts in his postseason debut. He missed all of the 2025 season and the start of this season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, the AP reported. Newsweek said Kerr made nine regular-season appearances after joining the team midway through August, pitching 18.1 innings with a 1.47 ERA and 11 strikeouts. Sale praised him after the clincher: “He put it on the line for us tonight,” Sale said. “We don’t win this game without him. He set the tone early.” [ 1 , 2 ]
The Braves used Sale twice in the Wild Card Series, starting him in Game 1 and bringing him out of the bullpen in Game 3 with a four-run lead over Philadelphia. Newsweek described that relief outing as 1.1 innings on just two full days of rest; the AP said Sale was used to get the final four outs after just one day of rest. Newsweek reported Sale allowed three runs over 7.2 innings in the series with 12 strikeouts. Weiss said he had no second thoughts: “We needed to win that series, and that was our best chance to do it,” he said. “So I have zero regrets about pitching Chris Sale in that last game.” [ 1 , 2 ]
In the regular season, Sale was 14-9 with a 2.16 ERA and struck out 200 batters in 162 2/3 innings, the AP reported, adding that his 96.1 mph average four-seam fastball velocity was a career high. Newsweek said it was the ninth time Sale struck out 200 batters and the third-best ERA of his career. [ 1 , 2 ]
On Monday, AP headlines reported that a strong showing by Braves relievers set up a fully rested Sale for Game 3, and a Spanish-language AP headline called the arrangement the “best scenario” for the Atlanta ace. Reuters described it as a gamble that paid off, with Sale rested for Game 3. Those items were available only as headlines and summaries, and the documents do not state the result of Game 2. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]
Почему это важно
The decision shapes the Braves’ pitching plans in a division series against the Dodgers, with the outcome of Game 2 left to a reliever who missed all of the 2025 season and the start of this one after Tommy John surgery. Later reports describe the arrangement as a gamble that paid off, suggesting the Braves’ bullpen held up and left Sale available at full strength for Game 3.
Ключевые факты
- Ray Kerr will start Game 2 of the NLDS for the Braves on Sunday at Dodger Stadium, not Chris Sale. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Chris Sale will start Game 3 for the Braves on Tuesday on extra rest. [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
- The Braves lost the NLDS opener 5-3 in a bullpen game on Saturday. [ 2 ]
- Kerr, 32, threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts in the Wild Card Series clincher against Philadelphia, his postseason debut. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Sale was 14-9 with a 2.16 ERA in the regular season and struck out 200 batters. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Braves manager Walt Weiss said the team wanted “full-strength Chris Sale” and that he had “zero regrets” about using Sale in relief in the Wild Card Series. [ 2 ]
Подтверждено несколькими источниками
- Ray Kerr will start Game 2 of the NLDS for the Braves against the Dodgers. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Chris Sale is lined up to start Game 3 on extra rest rather than Game 2. [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
- Sale posted a 2.16 ERA in the regular season and struck out 200 batters. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Kerr pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings in the Braves’ Wild Card Series clincher against the Phillies. [ 1 , 2 ]
Пока неясно
- The result of Game 2 was not reported in the documents. Documents 3 and 5 refer to Braves relievers’ strong showing and a gamble paying off, but neither provides article text stating the outcome.
- How much rest Sale actually had before his Wild Card Series relief outing. Newsweek says the Braves used Sale in Game 3 “on just two full days of rest,” while the Associated Press says he got the final four outs against the Phillies “after just one day of rest.”
- The AP’s line that Sale “will have five days of rest before Game 4 on Wednesday” sits alongside its statement that Sale starts Game 3 on Tuesday. The same document gives conflicting scheduling information.
- Whether Sale will be used out of the bullpen later in the series. The documents describe only his Game 3 start.
- The exact first-pitch time for Game 2. Newsweek’s article text is truncated at “Sunday at 5:00…”
Что пишут местные СМИ
Хронология, местное время
- Newsweek reports that Ray Kerr, not Chris Sale, will start Game 2 of the NLDS for the Braves on Sunday at Dodger Stadium, and notes Sale’s two relief appearances in the Wild Card Series. [ 1 ]
- The Associated Press reports, before Game 2, that Chris Sale will start Game 3 on Tuesday on extra rest, that Kerr will face Blake Snell in Game 2, and that Atlanta lost the opener 5-3 in a bullpen game. [ 2 ]
- An AP headline reports that a strong showing by Braves relievers set up a fully rested Sale for Game 3 against the Dodgers. [ 3 ]
- A Spanish-language AP headline says Sale is rested for Game 3 against the Dodgers and calls it the “best scenario” for the Atlanta ace. [ 4 ]
- A Reuters headline describes the plan as a gamble that paid off, with Sale rested for Game 3 against the Dodgers. [ 5 ]