Sale Does What Only Randy Johnson Had Done in Playoffs

Thirty-one years after Randy Johnson, Chris Sale did something no MLB pitcher had repeated in the postseason — or anywhere else: strike out 9 or more as a starter, then come back within 48 hours to fan 3 or more out of the bullpen. He did it in the 2026 NL Wild Card Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, first on September 30 and again on October 1, sending the Atlanta Braves to the Division Series. OptaSTATS certified the feat the next morning. The kicker: the last man to do it was the pitcher Sale calls his all-time idol.

Game 1: The Best Postseason Start of Sale’s Career

Sale took the mound for Game 1 on September 30 with something to prove. Entering the 2026 postseason, he carried a 6.35 ERA across 10 previous playoff appearances, had never gone deeper than 5⅓ innings in an October start, and had never struck out more than 8 in any postseason game. What followed was a different version of the 37-year-old lefty.

Over 6⅓ innings, Sale held the Phillies to 4 hits and 3 earned runs while striking out 9 in a 5-3 Atlanta win — the longest outing and most strikeouts of his postseason career. The 96 mph average fastball he maintained during the regular season — his best at this age — didn’t cool down in October.

For context: Sale was the third-best pitcher in MLB by ERA in 2026 (2.16), posting a 0.98 WHIP and 200 strikeouts in 162.2 innings. But that version of Sale had never shown up in October. Until Tuesday.

Game 2: Out of the Bullpen to Finish It

Two days later, Game 3 reached the eighth inning with Atlanta ahead 6-2 and Bryce Harper due up with two outs. Manager Walt Weiss went to the bullpen and called Sale’s number. What followed was a slider menu Harper couldn’t solve: strikeout. Sale came back for the ninth to close out the series, recording 4 outs total with at least 3 strikeouts in his relief appearance — a 4-out save, series over, Phillies eliminated.

OptaSTATS confirmed it the next day:

Chris Sale is the first MLB pitcher — regular season or postseason — to record 9+ strikeouts in a start and then 3+ strikeouts in a relief appearance within the next 48 hours since Randy Johnson did it in the 1995 ALDS against the Yankees.

Thirty-one years between one man and his idol.

Randy Johnson, 1995: When the Idol Wrote the Script

In the 1995 ALDS, the Seattle Mariners were down 0-2 to the Yankees when Johnson took over Game 3: 10 strikeouts in 7 innings, a dominant win. Seattle needed three straight. Johnson came back the very next day — Game 5 — out of the bullpen, throwing 3 innings with 6 strikeouts as the Mariners rallied to advance to the ALCS. It’s still the stuff of Seattle legend.

Sale has said publicly that Johnson is his favorite pitcher of all time. On October 1, 2026, in Atlanta, he closed the loop with the exact same ingredients: dominant start, relief appearance the next day, strikeouts in both roles, series won. It was also just the second time since the 2018 postseason that Sale had pitched in relief — and he did it on only 21 pitches.

Sale confirmed to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he’ll be ready to start Game 2 of the NLDS against the Dodgers on Sunday.