PHILADELPHIA — – Chris Sale became the fastest pitcher to reach 2,500 strikeouts, pitched six scoreless innings and the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-3 on Thursday night to split a doubleheader.
The Phillies won the afternoon game 5-4.
Sale (3-3) struck out Edmundo Sosa in the sixth inning for his eighth strikeout, to reach the milestone. He did it in 2,026 innings, surpassing the record of 2,107 2/3 set by Randy Johnson.
Sale became the 40th pitcher in major league history to reach 2.500 strikeouts and joined Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer as the only active pitchers to have reached that plateau.
Sosa was the last hitter Sale faced. He allowed just two hits in six shutout innings.
Austin Riley had a double, a homer, and four RBI, Ozzie Albies homered and drove in three, and Luke Williams had a pair of RBI for the Braves, who snapped a three-game losing skid.
Zack Wheeler (6-2) allowed six runs in 5 1/3 innings for the Phillies, who lost for just the second time in their last 13 games.
After the game, the Phillies acquired left-hander Josh Walker from Toronto for cash considerations. Walker goes on the Phillies’ 40-man roster, but will be assigned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Key moment
Sale loaded the bases in the fifth inning on two walks and a hit batter, but got out of it by getting Alec Bohm to ground out to Williams to end the threat.
Key stat
Albies’ homer, his sixth of the season, extended his hitting streak to 14 games.
Up next
RHP Grant Holmes (3-3, 3.68 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Braves when they open a three-game series at home against Boston on Friday.
Philadelphia will turn to RHP Taijuan Walker (2-3, 2.97) in the first game of a weekend home series against Milwaukee. RHP Quinn Priester (1-2, 4.23) is slated to start for the Brewers.
