Chris Sale pitched six scoreless innings to earn the 150th victory of his career as the Atlanta Braves beat the visiting Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 on Sunday in the rubber game of their three-game series.
Sale (5-1) retired the first eight batters he faced and allowed only one hit, a single to Trea Turner, two walks and a hit-by-pitch. He struck out a season-high nine batters and moved past Chuck Finley into 28th place on the career strikeouts list with 2,617.
Sale became the fourth active pitcher with 150 wins, joining Justin Verlander (266), Max Scherzer (222) and Gerrit Cole (153).
Atlanta became the first team to win 20 games, a milestone they didn’t reach until May 12 in their 41st game in 2025. The Phillies, who ended their 10-game losing streak on Saturday, have lost 15 of their last 18.
The Braves are 5-0 in rubber games and have not lost a series this season, improving to 8-0-1. They are 5-1 against Philadelphia; the National League East rivals don’t play again until September.
Philadelphia right-hander Aaron Nola (1-3) allowed some hard contact early but managed to work through 4 2/3 innings. He allowed a season-high six runs on seven hits and three walks, striking out six.
The Braves struck quickly in the first inning. Ronald Acuna Jr. and Drake Baldwin singled and Matt Olson hit a three-run homer, his eighth, deep into the right field seats.
Atlanta teed off on Nola again in the second. Mauricio Dubon walked, stole second and scored on Baldwin’s RBI single to stretch the lead to 6-0.
The Phillies threatened in the third inning, loading the bases with two outs, but Sale came back from a 3-0 count to strike out Bryce Harper and end the threat.
Philadelphia ended the shutout in the eighth inning when Kyle Schwarber parked a two-run homer, his ninth, into the right field stands off left-hander Aaron Bummer.
