Atlanta Braves Ace Chris Sale Joins Marcell Ozuna in Triple Crown Race

Starting pitcher Chris Sale dominated again for the Atlanta Braves in the 11-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels to tie the weekend series. 

Sale pitched six innings of two-run ball, giving up six hits and two walks while striking out 10 batters. 

While Sale has been building his Cy Young case all season, he’s pushed himself into Triple Crown territory. He currently leads the National League in wins (14), ERA (2.62) and strikeouts (187). 

Make that two Braves players in the hunt with Marcell Ozuna chasing the hitting Triple Crown. 

Look, wins have lost a lot of their emphasis in recent years, but a Triple Crown finish is still rare and would cement his case for the Cy Young. 

Should he win the Triple Crown, he would be the first since Cleveland starter Shane Bieber won it in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. The last winners in a 162-game season were Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander in 2011, who each won it in their respective league’s Cy Young Award in the same season. 

For added fun, he would be the first Braves pitcher to achieve this feat was John Clarkson in 1889, when the team was called the Boston Beaneaters – so Sale would be the first to do it since the team adopted the Braves moniker in 1912. Nobody did it in the Bees years, 1936 to 1940, so pointing out that name change is a moot point. 

While a rare accomplishment, it happens more frequently than the batting Triple Crown. Since 1967, one batter has taken home the Triple Crown compared to 11 pitchers. 

But that’s never stopped the voters from giving credit where it’s due. All 11 of these Triple Crown winners won the Cy Young that same season. So Sale would be a lock for his first-ever Cy Young if he makes history. 

Checking In On Ozuna

Ozuna blew the game open early on in Anaheim with a three-run shot in the third inning to give the Braves a 4-0 lead. This gave Ozuna his 35th home run of the year, putting him within three dingers of Shohei Ohtani for the lead in the National League. 

Those three RBIs extended his lead in that category further with 93. His three-hit game boosted his average to .307, putting him a single point behind Luis Araez’s league-leading .308 average. 

It would be remarkable if teammates could win Triple Crowns in the same season. It’s yet to happen. Both pitching and hitting Triple Crowns have been won in the same year but not by teammates. Teammates have also won the Triple Crowns but not in the same year. 

Baseball is a sport that’s been around long enough to have seen nearly everything. One more of those things could be on the list come October.