This was better by Sale, but still not necessarily good. He just can’t seem to wrangle his slider which has made him very predictable all season. He threw just three of them total when behind in the count and literally only threw a fastball when he was in a two or three ball count and the hitter had fewer than two strikes. His velocity has fully rebounded though, which is a great sign he could go on a hot streak soon. It’s just frustrating he was spotted a three-run lead early and couldn’t make it past the fifth inning. Things won’t get easier for him either, as his next start is scheduled to come against the Rockies in Coors Field.

Sale had the swing-and-miss stuff Saturday, as he generated 14 of them before exiting. The exit was earlier than fantasy managers, Atlanta and Sale would like because he needed 98 pitches to get his 13 outs. That’s partially due to allowing three walks, but he also allowed six hits in a start that was better than the line score suggests, but still disappointing. Sale will try to keep lowering his 6.17 ERA next weekend against the Diamondbacks.

The 36-year-old southpaw struck out five batters on the evening and didn’t allow a base on balls. Kyle Schwarber got him for a two-run triple in the third inning and a solo blast in the fifth while Nick Castellanos added a run-scoring single and an RBI double against him in the game. Sale generated 15 swings and misses 86 pitches in the game — eight of them on his slider — while posting a strong CSW of 35 percent. He’ll look to improve upon his 6.75 ERA and 1.36 WHIP when he does battle against the Rays in Tampa Bay on Sunday.