Chris Sale allowed one run and five hits in six innings to help the Atlanta Braves to a 10-1 win against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers in the second game of their three-game series on Saturday night.
Sale (17-3), who’s trying to become the first National League pitcher since Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw in 2011 to lead the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts, fanned six and walked two while lowering his ERA to 2.35.
Matt Olson and Orlando Arcia each delivered three-run doubles for the Braves (81-67), who have pulled back even with the New York Mets for the final wild card berth from the National League.
Dodgers right-hander Jack Flaherty (12-7) lasted a season-low three innings, allowing four runs and five hits while striking out four and walking a season-high four.
Miguel Rojas had two hits and pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Dodgers (87-61), who have lost four of five.
Michael Harris II singled to start the first for Atlanta. Flaherty struck out the next two batters, but Olson came through with an RBI double to right to score Harris for a 1-0 lead.
Enrique Hernandez had a ground-rule double to left with one out in the third. After Shohei Ohtani looked at strike three, Mookie Betts looped an RBI single to center off the end of the bat to tie it 1-1.
Betts couldn’t come down with a high drive to the wall in right, resulting in a leadoff double for Jorge Soler in the third. A pair of walks eventually loaded the bases with two outs for Arcia and he doubled into the right-field gap to clear the bases and give the Braves a 4-1 lead.
A leadoff walk to Arcia in the sixth was followed by a double from Gio Urshela and that opened the gates for six more runs. Whit Merrifield drove in the first with a single to make it 5-1 and Harris followed with a sacrifice fly for a 6-1 lead.
Atlanta would load the bases later in the inning before Olson doubled into the right-field corner to clear the bases and stretch the lead to 9-1.
Olson then came home on the second sacrifice fly of the inning for a 10-1 lead.