Atlanta Braves left-handed starter Chris Sale is having a fantastic 2026 season, and crossed off another milestone in his impressive career Wednesday. Sale recorded his 2,744th strikeout in the Braves' matchup against the Cincinnati Reds, which moves him to No. 6 among left-handed pitchers on the all-time ranking. The left-handers with more strikeouts than Sale are Mickey Lolich, Clayton Kershaw, CC Sabathia, Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson.
He is now 26th on the all-time ranking, with Cy Young as his next obstacle as he continues to ascend the list. The left-hander is in the midst of one of the best seasons of his career, as he entered Wednesday's matchup against the Reds with a 2.18 ERA—which would be his best since 2018—and 190 strikeouts through 157 innings pitched. He earned his 10th All-Star appearance this year, and is the likely runner-up for the NL Cy Young award this season.
He currently leads MLB in home runs per nine innings and strikeout to walk ratio, and also leads the National League in walks per nine innings. The left-hander threw his first complete game shutout since 2019 this season against the Los Angeles Dodgers in August. Sale, 37, has been one of the best pitchers in MLB for a long time, and excels at just about everything on the mound.
His funky arm slot troubles hitters, and the movement it gives his pitches gives him elite chase and strikeout stuff. Additionally, his fastball grades much faster than the average MLB left-hander, as it clocks in at an average of 96.1 mph compared to the league average of 93.6. His walk rate this season ranks in the top 5% of MLB, and he is still striking out batters at an incredible clip.
Over the course of his 16-year MLB career, Sale has a 5.35 strikeout to walk ratio, which is the best mark of any pitcher with more than 1,000 MLB innings pitched. Sale is a key part of the Braves' rotation, and will look to carry his strong season into October, as the Braves are looking to win the World Series for the second time since the turn of the 2020s.
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