BOSTON — Nobody will be happier to see the Braves leave town than Chris Sale.


 


Atlanta beat up on the Red Sox left-hander for the second time in three years on a drab Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park, salvaging the final game of the interleague series.


 


Sale didn’t survive the fifth inning and Mike Foltynewicz spun a beauty on the other side, as the Braves coasted to a 7-1 victory.


 


Tyler Flowers belted [...]

Bill Koch

BOSTON — Nobody will be happier to see the Braves leave town than Chris Sale.

 

Atlanta beat up on the Red Sox left-hander for the second time in three years on a drab Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park, salvaging the final game of the interleague series.

 

Sale didn’t survive the fifth inning and Mike Foltynewicz spun a beauty on the other side, as the Braves coasted to a 7-1 victory.

 

Tyler Flowers belted a three-run homer to left in the top of the second and Freddie Freeman ripped a two-run double in the fifth, the two key blows that had Sale on the run after just 13 outs. Foltynewicz carried a no-hit bid into the bottom of the sixth and turned in seven sharp frames for Atlanta, which joined Boston as one of five clubs in the big leagues with at least 30 victories this season.

 

“I put my guys in a bad spot today, I really did,” Sale said. “I sucked bad. There’s really no other way to sum it up.”

 

Sale’s lone previous start against the Braves came in July 2016, a game in which he surrendered 10 hits and eight earned runs as a member of the Chicago White Sox. This was only a marginal improvement and certainly not good enough to give Boston a real chance at its fifth series sweep of the season. The left-hander’s career earned-run average against Atlanta now sits at an unsightly 13.50.

 

“Just not a good day,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.

 

The Braves took an early 3-0 lead for the second time in as many days, this time on one swing of the bat. Flowers jumped on an 0-2 fastball from Sale that slipped back over the inner half of the plate, belting it to the Monster seats and surprising the third straight sellout crowd of the weekend.

 

“Second inning, a three-run shot — that sucks,” Sale said. “It really does. It’s putting a lot of pressure on your offense.”

 

There was more to come from Atlanta in the fifth, as Sale issued a second leadoff walk of the game that was ultimately punished. Charlie Culberson’s single to right and a Jackie Bradley Jr. error allowed Dansby Swanson to score, making it 4-0, and Freeman stroked a drive to right three batters later that one-hopped the Boston bullpen.

 

“The first inning was pretty smooth I felt like, then the second one happened kind of quick on him,” said Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland, who drove in his club’s only run with a triple in the sixth. “It was a battle from that second inning on.”

 

Flowers has considerable history with Sale, and you can’t help but wonder if he might be sharing his insights with his teammates. The catcher served as Sale’s batterymate 90 times while they were both with Chicago from 2010-15. Flowers also cracked a two-run homer, an RBI double and was hit by a pitch in Atlanta’s previous hammering of Sale, an 11-8 decision on July 8, 2016.

 

“Sitting here right now, I’d like to think so,” said Sale, when asked if the Braves might have benefited from some behind-the-scenes intelligence. “I’ve always thought he’s been a great hitter, a great ballplayer. I obviously respect him.”

 

Foltynewicz used his crackling fastball to overpower a Boston lineup absent Mookie Betts (left side tightness) and J.D. Martinez (rest). Andrew Benintendi’s one-out double off the Green Monster in the sixth broke up a bid at history by the right-hander, as Foltynewicz settled for three hits allowed and seven strikeouts on a season-high 113 pitches. Moreland’s liner to the corner in right spared Boston what would have been just its second shutout defeat of the season.

 

“He mixed his pitches,” Moreland said. “He got ahead. He’s got a big fastball. He played his breaking ball off of it pretty good. It was his day.”