Chris Sale got touched up a bit in the third and fourth innings before departing.
The Braves fell to the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday afternoon, 4-3.
Chris Sale pitched well in the early going, but he gave up a rare lefty-on-lefty two-run homer to Brandon Lowe in the third to make it 2-0 Tampa Bay. In the fourth, Sale gave up a leadoff single (who was promptly thrown out at second on a nice play by left fielder Eli White), walk, and double before departing for the afternoon. Sale will likely make two more spring starts before the real thing starts on March 27.
Dylan Lee, Daysbel Hernandez, Aaron Bummer and Jake Diekman all looked good in an inning of relief work.
On offense, Matt Olson plated two runners with the bases loaded in the third, sneaking a grounder up the middle. Bryan De La Cruz also drove in a run with a fielder’s choice in the sixth after Marcell Ozuna doubled two batters before.
Top prospect Drake Baldwin, who caught Sale for the second start in a row following Sean Murphy’s injury, had a nice day with two walks and a double down the left field line.
The spring training grind continues on Tuesday afternoon as the Braves host Jack Flaherty and the Tigers. Grant Holmes is expected to start for Atlanta. First pitch is 1:05 p.m. ET.