Chris Sale and Atlanta Braves aim for decisive series win against Reds

The Atlanta Braves have snapped their unfortunate three-game losing streak, but that's not enough at this point. They need to put together a winning streak if they want to stay in the game and remain competitive in the race for the postseason, and that has to start today in the finale of that series against the Cincinnati Reds.

The good news for the Braves is that they finally found a way to beat the Reds last night. Even better, Chris Sale is starting for the Braves this afternoon. Chris Sale has proven time and time again this season that he is the star of this rotation in 2024, and he is also the best class in baseball in terms of pitching in general. I know I sound like a broken record here, but he is a surefire candidate for the NL Cy Young Award and has a good chance of getting votes for NL MVP as well.

He was definitely extremely important to the Braves in keeping them alive this season. Atlanta's record with him on the mound is outstanding and it's easy to see why. Sale comes into this game with an ERA of 56 and a FIP of 51. While that's not Sale's career-best (which shows how good he was a few years ago, especially in 2018), it's the telltale sign of an elite pitcher. His Baseball Savant side is also about as red as a Nebraska football home game, so there's that. Sale has been fantastic this season and it's hard to imagine things suddenly changing today. It's possible, but I'd count on Sale being great again more than anything else.

While Chris Sale has clearly established himself as one of baseball's current greats, his counterpart, who pitches for Cincinnati this afternoon, has only just begun to make a name for himself. Julian Aguiar is about to make his seventh major league start, and looking at his stats at first glance, you'd think he'd had a lot of trouble adjusting to the major leagues. In one start in particular, this was the case, as the Oakland A's inflicted 10 hits, three home runs, and six total runs on him in just four innings. That was by far his worst start to date, and has skewed his stats so far.

If you take that game out, Aguiar has been perfectly fine so far. Aside from that disaster, he has allowed three runs or less in a start, which also happened when he made it to the seventh inning in his last game on Sept. 13 against the Twins. Aguiar has an arsenal of sinkers, changeups, sliders and curveballs and has done a good job of limiting the hard hit percentage and high exit velocity so far. He's really relied on that sinker, but his changeup has been pretty effective when he decided to break it out, so that's worth keeping an eye on.

Cincinnati's pitching has been excellent lately, which makes Atlanta's offense pretty impressive so far in this series. The last two games, in which the Braves scored five and seven runs respectively, mark the first time they've allowed at least that many runs in consecutive games since their series against the Oakland A's in late August. The A's were able to keep that up all series long (and the Brewers extended that torment even further in the series afterward), so let's hope the Braves keep it up and can give Chris Sale plenty of run support in this game.

As always, it's crucial for the Braves to win here, and not just because they have to help themselves (which is the most important thing). While the Padres are off (for real this time), both the Mets and Diamondbacks will face tougher competition over the next four days. The Mets will begin a four-game series against the Phillies and Arizona will begin one against the Brewers. While today could be difficult for Milwaukee, as they are on a hangover day after winning the NL Central last night, the Phillies are looking to finish their job.

That being said, none of this matters if the Braves don't mind their own business. They absolutely have to get this win today, and with the best starter in baseball starting for them this afternoon, the Braves don't have many excuses if they can't get the win today. It has to happen, and the Braves have no choice but to make it happen if they want to make the postseason.

Game info

Date/time of the game: Thursday, September 19, 1:10 p.m. ET

Location: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, Ohio

TV: Bally Sports South

Streaming: MLB.tv (Free Game of the Day)

Radio: 680 AM / 93,7 FM The Fan