Chris Sale shuts out Dodgers to finish sweep, throws his fastest pitch in 8 years against Shohei Ohtani

Chris Sale clearly wanted that one. The Atlanta Braves ace threw a shutout against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, finishing off a three-game sweep with a 1-0 win. The game was billed as a pitchers’ duel against Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto and he most certainly delivered. Sale’s final line: 9 innings, 5 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks and 11 strikeouts (tying a season high) on 109 pitches. He finished things off with a punchout of Alex Call. COMPLETE GAME SHUTOUT FOR CHRIS SALE 👏 pic.twitter.com/e0knrAp8GD — MLB (@MLB) August 28, 2026 The 27-year-old Sale turned back the clock in multiple ways. It was his first shutout since 2019, a span of time that includes 117 starts, three All-Star berths and the 2024 NL Cy Young Award. Only five older pitchers have thrown a shutout with double-digit strikeouts and no walks in MLB’s modern era : Cy Young, Eddie Plank, Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson. He also found some rare heat against the Dodgers’ most dangerous hitter. Facing Shohei Ohtani in the third inning, Sale threw a 100.1 mph fastball, his fastest pitch since July 6, 2018 according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs . Chris Sale threw Shohei Ohtani a 100.1 MPH fastball. It was the first time he's thrown over 100 MPH since 2018, and the seventh-fastest pitch of his career pic.twitter.com/zz0ysWakRF — Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 28, 2026 Sale later struck Ohtani on a 99.6 mph pitch, his second-hardest pitch of the night. On the Dodgers’ side, Yamamoto had a perfectly fine outing with 6 1/3 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 walk and 8 strikeouts. His only run, the lone run of the game, came on his first pitch when Braves catcher Drake Baldwin got a hold of a hanging splitter for a 402-foot homer. Drake Baldwin destroys the first pitch he sees! pic.twitter.com/BahO2ZF3tT — MLB (@MLB) August 27, 2026 Yamamoto and the Dodgers bullpen allowed only three more hits the entire game, all singles, but their offense couldn’t muster the needed run against Sale. The Braves’ win is significant as far as MLB playoff seeding goes. Atlanta is now only one game back from the Dodgers for the No. 2 seed in the NL, with the Milwaukee Brewers sitting just ahead at an MLB-best 82-51. More concerning for the Dodgers is that they are now 1-12 since July 31 against teams currently holding a playoff spot. With the postseason just over a month away, that’s not exactly the best sign for the two-time defending champions.