Braves' Chris Sale: Gets extra rest before next start

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Sale will make his next start Wednesday against the Mets, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

The veteran lefty was originally in line to pitch Tuesday, which would have set him up for a two-start week to close out the schedule, but Sale's average fastball velocity was down over two miles per hour in his last outing Thursday against the Reds. As a result, Atlanta elected to be cautious with its ace and bump him back a day. Rookie Spencer Schwellenbach now gets the chance for a two-step with potential starts Tuesday and Sunday, while Sale would be available to pitch the first game of the wild-card series, should the team make the postseason. He also has a possible NL Cy Young Award, and even a triple crown, hanging in the balance -- Sale leads the Senior Circuit with 18 wins, a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts.