Sale (10-6) earned the win against the Rangers on Friday, allowing two hits while striking out six across seven scoreless innings. He did not issue a walk.
The veteran southpaw was sharp in Atlanta's first game since the All-Star break. He limited the Rangers to just two hits and retired 13 straight batters from the third to seventh frames, ending his night with 16 whiffs on just 89 total pitches. It was the 11th quality start of the season for Sale, whose 2.06 ERA (across 105 innings) is third best among qualified starters in the majors behind Jacob Misiorowski (1.62) and Cam Schlittler (2.05). Sale is lined up to face the Padres at home next week.