Chris Sale named NL Pitcher of the Month for May

Chris Sale was lights out in May and earned his Pitcher of the Month award since joining the Braves

Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale was named Pitcher of the Month for May in the National League.

Sale made five starts in May and was outstanding allowing two runs over 32 innings to go along with 45 strikeouts and just two walks. That equates to a 0.56 ERA and a 0.80 FIP to go along with a sizzling 36.3% strikeout rate. Sale logged seven innings in each of his last three starts and recorded at least nine strikeouts in four of his five starts. After allowing four homers in five starts in April, Sale didn’t allow a home run in any of his five starts in May.

Sale was a bit of a question mark after the Braves acquired him from Boston in a trade for Vaughn Grissom this offseason. While he had been good when he pitched, injuries had limited his opportunities since the end of the 2019 season. After the trade was completed, Sale said that he was healthy and was having a normal offseason for the first time in a long time. That has proven true so far and the move is looking one of the better under the radar additions of the offseason.

This was Sale’s fifth career Pitcher of the Month Award and his first since 2018. He’s the first Braves pitcher to win the award since Max Fried in September 2021.