Chris Sale makes history with the Braves against the Rockies on the way to the National League Cy Young

The Atlanta Braves made the trade of a lifetime last season when they acquired former Boston Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale. A veteran plagued by injuries since 2019 came to Atlanta at a relatively low cost last December, thanks to general manager Alex Anthopoulos.

Sale continued his dominant work when the Braves needed it most on Tuesday night. He pitched another gem, going seven innings, allowing no runs, six hits, no walks and nine strikeouts.

Atlanta maintains a half-game lead over the Mets, who continue to win.

Anthopoulos is a proven general manager, especially after the team’s 2021 World Series run. The addition of Sale is the latest masterclass from Anthopoulos, proving that Atlanta has had a 100 percent return on investment — and then some. On Tuesday night, he accomplished a milestone that no Braves lefty has ever accomplished in team history.

This is a mind-boggling statistic considering all the lefties in Braves history; here are a few names who didn’t reach 200 strikeouts in a single season:

The first two names on the above list are in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, and the 6-foot-6, 180-pound Florida native is not only in the running for the 2024 NL Cy Young Award, but he’s also adding to his potential Cooperstown resume. Not only did he break that record, but he’s now the strikeout leader among all major league pitchers.

Additionally, of all left-handed pitchers in MLB history, he is now tied with famed former Philadelphia Phillies player Steve Carlton with eight seasons with 200-plus strikeouts. Only Arizona Diamondbacks legend Randy Johnson is ahead of Carlton and Sale with 13 such seasons.

Among all Atlanta pitchers, he joins the list as the ninth Braves to achieve a 200-strikeout season.

While the Braves ace may not have five more seasons with 200 or more strikeouts, he has a chance this season to have the best season of his career.

So far, this would be the third-lowest ERA (2.46) he’s had in his 14 seasons. He’s also less than two dozen strikeouts away from having his third-highest career strikeout total. In 2018, he recorded 237 strikeouts, and with a few more regular-season starts, he’s poised to surpass that number.

Given his excellent start with seven innings pitched, no earned runs, no walks and nine strikeouts on Tuesday night, he’s primed to achieve more milestones before the end of the season.