Chris Sale turned in one of the most complete pitching performances of the season last night in Atlanta, throwing a complete game shutout against the two time defending champion Dodgers. 

Nine innings, five hits, zero walks, eleven strikeouts, all across 109 pitches with 80 landing for strikes. At 37 years old, Sale becomes only the sixth pitcher since 1900 to record a shutout with double digit strikeouts and no walks at that age or older, joining a group that includes guys like Cy Young, Nolan Ryan, and his childhood idol Randy Johnson. It is the 28th time he has thrown 10 strikeouts while allowing zero runs.

The signature moment came in the third inning, when Sale reached back for a 100.1 mph fastball against Shohei Ohtani, his first triple digit pitch in eight years. He got Ohtani again two innings later on a 99.6 mph heater well above the zone, part of an 0 for 4 night for the reigning MVP.

Sale revealed afterward that he was pitching through grief, dedicating the outing to a close family friend who had recently passed. That emotional weight, combined with a depleted Atlanta bullpen, meant there was little chance he was coming out of that game early.

The performance carries real postseason implications. Atlanta's sweep shrank the Dodgers lead for the NL's second seed to a single game, and Los Angeles now trails both the Braves and Brewers on the season tiebreaker. Milwaukee still sits atop the league at 83-51.

Sale's ERA now stands at 2.06 for the year, and this outing adds serious momentum to his case for a second career Cy Young award.

⚾ Home Run Cheat Sheet

Pine’s Home Run Sheet gives you everything you need to pick tonight’s home run hitters:

Projections & Odds – Jaxon's HR projection and live over/under odds
Hit Rate – Track how often each player has gone deep over their last ten games and more
Confidence Score – Know which plays Jaxon likes most at a glance

Click on any player to view detailed stats!

🔥 High Scores to Start the Weekend

Today's MLB slate offers a few vulnerable spots shaky pitching staffs running into offenses built to punish them. Here are the top three matchups set up for high scores.

🔥 Rockies at Braves Over 9

Colorado's staff owns the worst ERA in baseball at 5.52, has surrendered more runs than any team at 768, and carries a league worst 1.52 WHIP. Grant Holmes takes the mound for Atlanta and has dominated this specific group of Rockies hitters historically, allowing only 5 hits in 28 plate appearances.

Atlanta ranks 8th in runs scored and 7th in home runs, a strong enough offense on its own to threaten this number without needing help from a shaky Rockies staff on the other side. Truist Park has been a hot spot for run scoring this year and it looks like the day's most attractive over.

🔥 Orioles at Athletics Over 9.5

The Athletics’ pitching is arguably as bad as Colorado's, ranking near the bottom of the league in ERA, allowed runs, and home runs surrendered. Baltimore isn't an elite offense but sits comfortably in the top half of the league in scoring and home runs, more than enough firepower against a bullpen that leaks homers at the league's worst rate.

Jacob Lopez starts on the mound for the A’s. He last started against Baltimore in May and allowed 2 solo home runs from 3 hits and 5 strikeouts. Watch out for the long ball against him tonight as Sutter Health Park has the highest Home Run park factors in the league.

🔥 White Sox at Twins Over 9

Target Field has been a hitter friendly environment this season, ranking among the top parks in baseball for run scoring. Minnesota's staff has been shaky all year, ranking bottom third in both ERA and WHIP.

Chicago counters with a fairly productive offense that ranks top ten in runs, home runs, and wRC plus. Minnesota's own lineup isn't far behind in run production either. With two respectable offenses, two vulnerable pitching staffs, and a park that inflates scoring, this game at a total of 9 looks primed to clear it with room to spare.

🌲 The Pine Line

⚽️ Chelsea improved everywhere except one key position. Now they’re adding a former World Cup winner to fill the void.

⚾️ Want to know how to make offseason more boring? Just look at the new MLB proposal to find out.

💵 The debut patch cards have been a hit for collectors. More rookie patches are coming to sport’s biggest stage.

🏒 One of the league’s top goalies just made is intentions clear. He wants nothing to do with his current, soon-to-be-former, team.

⚽️ Man City Look to Extend Selhurst Park Dominance

Selhurst Park hosts one of the more intriguing early season tests on this weekend’s Premier League slate. Both clubs enter under new management and both stumbled out of the gate. City survived a scrappy 2 1 win over Bournemouth that wasn't decided until deep stoppage time, while Palace fell 2 0 at Everton despite controlling possession and the underlying expected goals numbers. Palace's issue wasn't creating chances, it was finishing them, managing just three shots on target from eleven attempts.

History leans heavily toward City here. They're unbeaten in eleven straight league trips to Selhurst Park, and Palace have managed only two home wins against them across their last twenty two meetings. The last six head to head clashes have all produced at least three goals, and City has won the two most recent meetings by identical 3 0 scorelines.

Still, City's backline looked shaky against both Arsenal and Bournemouth, conceding chances they shouldn't with a midfield still adjusting to life without Rodri. Palace's new manager brings an attacking mindset from his time in France, where a majority of his matches produced heavy goal totals, suggesting he won't sit back and invite pressure.

🔥 Total Over 2.5 Goals

This total looks attractive given that every one of the last six meetings between these clubs has cleared it. Erling Haaland is also worth a look in the anytime scorer market. He has found the net in every Premier League appearance against Palace, 8 goals in 5 head to head games, including a hat trick in the first and a two-goal brace in the most recent. Why not one more today?

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