Sale pitched 1.1 scoreless innings to close out Atlanta's victory over Philadelphia in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series on Thursday. He allowed one hit and no walks while striking out three.
Sale threw 95 pitches during Atlanta's Game 1 win, and he returned to the mound only two days later to eliminate the division-rival Phillies. The veteran left-hander induced five whiffs on 21 pitches Thursday as he made just his second relief appearance since the 2018 playoffs, when he worked out of the bullpen twice during Boston's World Series run. Even without the relief appearance, Sale would have been on short rest to start Game 1 of the NLDS against the Dodgers on Saturday, which makes him a logical candidate to pitch Sunday in Game 2, especially since that would still him up for a potential winner-take-all Game 5.