SAN FRANCISCO – Chris Sale and Blake Snell put on a pitching show Monday night in a clash of aces before the Atlanta Braves defeated the San Francisco Giants 1-0 on slugger Travis d’Arnaud’s 10th-inning sacrifice bunt.
“It was a daunting task from the beginning,” Sale said. “Snell is as good as you’ll see.”
Snell threw a no-hitter in six innings for San Francisco, just 10 days after throwing his first career no-hitter at Cincinnati. The lefty gave up Marcell Ozuna’s double in the seventh on his 103rd pitch.
Matt Olson followed with an infield single, but Snell struck out Orlando Arcia before being pulled. The two-time Cy Young Award winner struck out 11 and walked three.
Sale fanned 12 without walks in seven innings of three-hit ball. The eight-time All-Star struck out 77 of 107 pitches and lowered his ERA to 2.61 in his first season with Atlanta, which he won for just the second time in nine tries and advanced one game ahead of the New York Mets to the Finals National League Wildcard.
It was the 94th double-digit strikeout game of the left-hander’s career. The combined 33 strikeouts were the most by two starting pitchers in Oracle Park history.
“Sale’s effort tonight really helped us,” Braves closer Raisel Iglesias said through a translator. “I just think it was a really good ride. It might be one of those things that gives us a little push to move forward.”
Sean Murphy’s leadoff single off Taylor Rogers (1-4) in the 10th sent Arcia, the automatic runner, from second base to third. He scored on d’Arnaud’s sack to right field.
Iglesias (2-1) struck out four in two perfect innings for the win.
“He doesn’t back down in those situations,” Sale said. “That’s why everyone here trusts him. That’s why we love it here. Whenever he has the ball, you can’t have much more confidence in a closeout than we have in him. We won’t win this game without him.”
San Francisco put runners on the corners in the first against Sale but were unable to score.
Atlanta bounced back after blowing a six-run lead late in Sunday’s 9-8 loss to last-place Colorado.
“He’s such a good guy to have on the field after a game like yesterday, that’s for sure,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He gave us a chance to win every time he was there.”
Snell received a standing ovation from the crowd of 30,184. He has a 0.99 ERA in seven starts since coming off the injured list, allowing just 14 hits and striking out 60 in 45 1/3 innings. But he hasn’t beaten the Braves in his career.
Randy Rodríguez relieved Snell and struck out two consecutive batters to keep the game scoreless.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Braves: LHP AJ Minter was placed on the 15-day injured list with left hip inflammation, an injury that has plagued him this season and caused him to miss more than a month. … Ramón Laureano (right heel pain) started in the center of the field.
Giants: INF Thairo Estrada is gradually easing into on-field training after being sidelined with a sprained left wrist in late June. He is expected to return before the end of this month.
NEXT
The teams resume their four-game series on Tuesday night.
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This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
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