"There’s one reason we lost this game and he’s sitting here" - Chris Sales blames himself for Braves' narrow defeat vs A's

Veteran Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale's impressive winning run came to a halt after a rude awakening against the Oakland Athletics on Saturday. Sale took the blame for his team's 11-9 defeat against the A’s at Truist Park.

Chris Sale registered one of his best runs of a storied career during May for the Atlanta Braves. The veteran starter went 5-0 with a 0.56 ERA, a run that saw him in the company of Braves legend and MLB Hall of Famer Warren Spahn.

However, the month of June came bearing bad news for the seven-time All-Star, who compiled one of the worst starts of his career against the A's on June 1. Sale was removed from the mound after coughing up eight earned runs in just four innings.

“I put my team in a tough spot, and here we are,” Sale said. “It’s pretty easy to sum up: There is one reason we lost this game, and he’s sitting here right now.”

It was only the second time the former World Series winner conceded eight runs in four innings or less and only the fifth time he has allowed a career-high eight runs in a game. Sale allowed nine hits in the 22 batters he faced during the game.

“Today was almost the exact opposite of what I’ve done to be successful,” Sale said. “It kind of just kept unraveling. With [a start] that bad, there should be a pretty glaring fix. I obviously have some work to do.”

Chris Sale looks at the positives after tough outing

Chris Sale's disastrous start gave a considerable 8-3 lead to the A's at the end of the fourth inning. But the underperforming Braves offense finally showed signs of life amid their recent slump.

Austin Riley and Marcell Ozuna's RBI single cut the deficit in the fifth before Matt Olson's two-run homer and Adam Duvall's RBI single completed a remarkable turnaround in a six-run fifth inning for the Braves.

However, the Braves' bullpen could not back their offense and failed to preserve the lead as the Athletics rallied late to register an 11-9 victory.

“To be in a tough stretch, and then score nine runs and have an explosive game offensively … at least we can see that and know we’re going in the right direction,” Sale said.

Despite Chris Sale's bad start in June, the Atlanta Braves will be looking at the positive side of things, thanks to a blitz by the offense to bring the fight to the A's in front of the home crowd.