NORTH PORT, Fla. — The Braves will send the National League’s best pitcher of the 2024 season to the mound in their first game of the 2025 exhibition season.
Chris Sale will start Saturday against the Twins in Fort Myers, the obvious choice after his historic 2024 season — his first with the Braves. The left-hander was named the National League Cy Young Award winner, voted on by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and presented to the top pitcher in the league.
He also won the NL pitching triple crown in 2024 — achieved by totaling the best ERA, most wins and most strikeouts in the National League. Sale finished with a 2.38 ERA (best in MLB), 18 wins (tied for the most in MLB) and 225 strikeouts.
It was the first triple crown in franchise history, a franchise that has featured the Big Three (Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz), Warren Spahn and even Cy Young himself from 1901-08.
Saturday’s game will be the first of 30 spring training games between now and the regular-season opener March 27 in San Diego.
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