Fernando Tatis Jr. vs Chris Sale

The Almanac's Take

Sale has been one of the sharpest starters in baseball this season — 1.98 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 10.3 K/9 across 100 innings — but Tatis bats right against a lefty, so the platoon edge sits in his favor. His .284/.349/.406 line is solid if unspectacular, and a 9.0% walk rate suggests he won't chase Sale into easy outs. The 12-PA career sample is too thin to carry much weight: 4-for-12 with a homer and five strikeouts reads more like noise than a signal, though the 96.8 mph average exit velocity hints he's made hard contact when he has connected. Sale's heavy fastball-slider diet (52.7% and 38.2%) against a right-handed hitter is where this matchup actually turns.

Career head-to-head

AVG

.333

4-for-12

PA

12

HR

1

K

5

BB

0

Pitches seen

55

Avg exit velo

96.8 mph

Career meetings in the Statcast era (2015–present). Even a clear edge over a handful of plate appearances is a small sample — read it as color, not a projection.

Pitch mix to the batter

Plate-appearance log

• 2025-05-23Double · Slider 78.6 mph · 95.9 mph EV
• 2025-05-23Field Out · 4-Seam Fastball 93.7 mph · 90.7 mph EV
• 2025-05-23Strikeout · 4-Seam Fastball 97.1 mph
• 2025-03-27Single · Slider 78.0 mph · 112.0 mph EV
• 2025-03-27Strikeout · Slider 80.7 mph
• 2025-03-27Single · 4-Seam Fastball 93.6 mph · 94.4 mph EV
• 2024-05-20Strikeout · 4-Seam Fastball 95.5 mph
• 2024-05-20Strikeout · 4-Seam Fastball 94.9 mph
• 2024-05-20Strikeout · 4-Seam Fastball 94.6 mph
• 2023-05-20Home Run · Slider 79.8 mph · 107.2 mph EV
• 2023-05-20Field Out · Changeup 88.6 mph · 78.1 mph EV
• 2023-05-20Field Out · Slider 80.7 mph · 99.5 mph EV