The Atlanta Braves are entering their weekend road series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on a high note. After a successful 5-1 homestand, Atlanta now turns its focus to continuing that momentum on the road, opening a three-game set in Phoenix beginning Friday night. With a mix of elite offensive production, timely pitching, and an eye on maintaining their spot atop the National League, the Braves are hoping to carry their hot streak into the desert — and they’ll need veteran lefty Chris Sale to help lead the charge.
The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, are 14-11 on the season but arrive at this series with some questions of their own, having dropped two straight games at home to the Tampa Bay Rays. Still, Arizona remains one of the league’s more well-rounded clubs, especially on offense, and this series promises to be an early test of postseason-caliber potential for both squads.
Braves Relying on Sale Amid Rotation Injuries
Friday’s opener marks a crucial outing for Chris Sale, who is still working to find his form early in the 2025 campaign. The seven-time All-Star and former Cy Young winner came into the season with high expectations after showing flashes of vintage dominance last year, but through five starts this season, the results have been mixed. His 6.17 ERA may raise eyebrows, but a closer look under the hood paints a more forgiving picture.
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Despite the inflated ERA, Sale holds a 3.80 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) and an even better 3.29 xFIP (Expected FIP), which suggest he’s been far more effective than the box scores imply. His strikeout-to-walk ratio (32 K / 7 BB) is excellent, and his fastball velocity is sitting comfortably in the mid-to-upper 90s, a promising sign for the 35-year-old southpaw. Much of Sale’s misfortune can be attributed to an unsustainably high .422 BABIP (batting average on balls in play) — a clear indicator that many of the hits he’s allowed have come down to bad luck more than bad pitching.
Still, with Spencer Strider currently on the injured list due to a hamstring strain, the Braves can’t afford to wait much longer for Sale to put it all together. The team’s starting rotation is thin, and they’ll need the veteran to play a stabilizing role if they want to keep winning series during a tough stretch of the schedule.
Gallen Looks to Rebound for Arizona
Sale will square off against Arizona’s ace, Zac Gallen, who’s also looking to rebound from a slow start. Gallen, who finished top five in Cy Young voting last season, has yet to hit his stride in 2025, entering Friday with a 5.60 ERA over five starts. Like Sale, Gallen’s underlying numbers suggest he hasn’t been quite as bad as the ERA implies, but concerns remain. His xERA, FIP, and xFIP all hover around 4.60, which is below league average for a pitcher of his caliber.
Perhaps most concerning for Arizona is Gallen’s rise in walk rate (10.7%, a career high) and a significant jump in home runs allowed (1.65 HR/9). His fastball command has been inconsistent, and Baseball Savant data ranks both his slider and curveball among the least effective breaking pitches in baseball to this point in the season. If he can’t locate better, the Braves’ power-hitting lineup may make him pay early.
Dangerous Arizona Lineup Presents a Challenge
While both teams are looking for more consistency on the mound, Arizona’s offense has been consistently dangerous. The Diamondbacks rank among the top 10 in nearly every major offensive category, including first in walk rate and second in lowest strikeout rate — a lethal combination that keeps pressure on opposing pitchers all game long.
Two names stand out in particular: outfielder Corbin Carroll and first baseman Pavin Smith. Carroll, last year’s NL Rookie of the Year, is off to another scorching start, posting a 195 wRC+ and continuing to wreak havoc on the bases and in the batter’s box. Smith, meanwhile, is carrying a jaw-dropping 232 wRC+ and has emerged as a surprise star for Arizona early this season.
The Braves will hope Sale’s left-handed delivery can neutralize those two threats, but it will take a disciplined effort to keep the Diamondbacks’ lineup from stringing together big innings.
Braves Offense Finding Its Groove
On the flip side, Atlanta enters the series with its offense clicking on all cylinders. During the recent homestand, the Braves exploded for double-digit runs in multiple games, and their lineup is proving once again why it’s one of the most feared in baseball.
Matt Olson, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Austin Riley are starting to look like the core trio that powered the Braves to dominance in recent seasons. Young contributors like Michael Harris II and newcomer Nick Allen have also stepped up in clutch moments, providing depth throughout the batting order.
The Braves have also been finding success even without relying solely on the long ball. During a recent win over Arizona, they piled up hits and manufactured runs with singles, doubles, and smart base running — a positive sign for a team that was once considered home-run-dependent.
Series Outlook
This weekend’s series has all the makings of a competitive, high-scoring affair between two playoff-caliber teams. Both the Braves and Diamondbacks have dynamic offenses, strong pitching (when healthy), and postseason aspirations. For the Braves, this series is a chance to prove they can keep winning despite injuries. For Arizona, it’s a shot to bounce back and hold ground in the NL West.
With Chris Sale and Zac Gallen on the mound for Game 1, Friday night should set the tone for what promises to be an exciting few days of baseball in the desert.
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