NEW YORK — Chris Sale has become the Atlanta Braves' cut-rate ace.
A Major League Baseball All-Star for seven straight seasons (2012-18), he won just 17 games over the next five and was jettisoned by the Boston Red Sox to Atlanta last winter along with $17 million to cover most of his salary.
After being offloaded for a bargain basement price as if some outlet store markdown, Sale joined pitchers Seth Lugo of the Kansas City Royals and Ranger Suárez of the Philadelphia Phillies as the only 10-game winners so far this MLB season with the Braves' 8-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Friday night.
"I think he's back to where he was," Braves manager Brian Snitker said.
Atlanta improved to 42-31 overall and won for the seventh time in eight games after a five-game losing streak.
"Just like we weren't worried when it wasn't going well, we're not going to sit here and throw a party when it is," Sale said. "You've just got to stay consistent, stay on the job and keep pulling your weight."
At age 35, the left-hander is 10-2 with a 2.91 ERA, striking out 107 batters and walking 16 in 86 2/3 innings this season. With one more victory, he will have as many wins this year as he did from 2020 to 2023 combined.
Snitker attributed Sale's success to entering the offseason healthy and having a normal winter routine going into spring training. Sale wouldn't agree that he's free of health worries.
"That can creep up anytime. You're never really out of the woods." he said. "I've been through too much to sit here and say anything like that right now. I know how this game could be.
"I just like to be able to sit back and appreciate what I have right now, and where I'm at and who I'm doing it with. I've just really got to stay focused on each and every day and not try to get too far ahead of yourself in this game."
Sale was limited to one start from late July to mid-September in 2018 because of shoulder inflammation, then returned and helped the Red Sox win the World Series. He was rewarded the following March with a contract adding $145 million over five years through 2024.
He didn't pitch after Aug. 13 in 2019 because of left elbow inflammation, missed all of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season after Tommy John surgery that sidelined him until Aug. 14, 2021, and didn't pitch until July in 2022 because of a stress fracture in a rib on his right side.
He returned for two starts and broke his left pinkie when hit by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees' Aaron Hicks. And before Sale could return from that, he broke his right wrist in a bike accident.
Sale went 6-5 with a 4.30 ERA over 20 starts last year and was traded for young infielder Vaughn Grissom, who is hitting .148 for the Red Sox this season. Atlanta then replaced Sale's $27.5 million salary for 2024, which included $10 million deferred until 2039, with a $38 million deal for two years.
"We've seen the great Chris Sale early in his Red Sox days over there a lot, and then obviously the Chris Sale that went through a lot of injuries and battled through things," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "He looked really good; secondary is excellent. I thought he was out of the heart of the plate. You see him be able to throw his two fastballs, he can reach back."
Against the Yankees, Sale's four-seam fastball averaged 96.4 mph, 1.7 mph above his season average. His sinker averaged 96.1 mph, up 2.3 mph.
Aaron Judge and Juan Soto each struck out twice against Sale. Judge has 18 strikeouts in 30 career at-bats against him, while Soto has six in seven at-bats.
"He was putting the ball where he wanted, and the slider was big and it's moving," Soto said. "I think that's the best Chris Sale I've watched since I faced him the first time."
The Braves did have a major blow to their rotation early, with right-hander Spencer Strider — expected to anchor the staff after leading the majors with 20 wins and 286 strikeouts last season — making just two starts before undergoing elbow surgery. He won't be back this season.
So now Sale heads a rotation that includes fellow left-hander Max Fried (6-2), plus right-handers Reynaldo López (5-2) and Charlie Morton (4-3).
The former Red Sox pitcher didn't gloat over his success against the Yankees.
"I've got too much respect for the game and too much respect for those guys to say anything other than, 'Hey, we battled, and it just went my way,'" Sale said. "I've been on the other side of it, too."