PHILADELPHIA — It was here at Citizens Bank Park on March 31, 2024, when the Braves and their fans saw a prime example of why many of Chris Sale’s teammates with the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox called him the best teammate they ever had.

This was Sale’s debut with the Braves, the third game of the 2024 season, and Atlanta had a 3-2 lead against the Philadelphia Phillies with a runner on first base and one out in the sixth inning. That’s when Sale, who had thrown 83 pitches, was replaced by Joe Jiménez to face Nick Castellanos.

Whatever Braves manager Brian Snitker anticipated happening as he went out to replace a fiery veteran pitcher of Sale’s gravitas in such a close game, it probably was not this.

Sale handed him the ball. Then, instead of stalking to the dugout with a look of disdain or muttering something into his glove, Sale stepped in front of each of the Braves’ infielders, who were at the mound for the pitching change, and told them how pleased he was to be with them, and urged them to get it done, to finish the win.

They didn’t win that day; the Phillies came back to win 5-4 and avert a series sweep by the Braves. But Sale, who already had impressed throughout spring training with his attitude and work habits, further established himself as a guy every Brave knew they could count on.

And someone they didn’t want to disappoint.

Which has never wavered.

As stern and severe as Chris Sale’s expressions are on the field, teammates see a different side of him every day in the clubhouse. (John Fisher / Getty Images)

“He’s been the least diva superstar I’ve ever been around,” Snitker said Friday, on the eve of Sale’s return from a 10-week injury-list stint for fractured ribs. It was an injury that might’ve been season-ending for many veterans whose teams had fallen from any hope for postseason contention, as the Braves did in his absence.

But not for Sale. He never considered not returning to pitch this season, regardless of the standings.

The Braves (61-74) remain ninth in the National League wild-card standings after a 2-1 loss Friday to the Phillies. Bryce Elder pitched seven innings of three-hit, one-run ball in his second strong start in a row, and Atlanta had 12 hits to the Phillies’ six. But the Braves were 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

Now, they’ll give the ball to Sale and hope to salvage a split of the four-game series by winning twice this weekend. They won seven of Sale’s last 11 starts before the injury, and won 22 of his 29 starts in that first 2024 season with the Braves, when Sale was 18-3 with a majors-leading 2.38 ERA and won his first Cy Young Award.

“He’s a pro,” Elder said. “Not only is he that good, because his stuff is so good and his ability to just do it every day, but also how he handles himself around us. We’ve got a lot of young guys, so what he brings to the clubhouse, just a kind of a day-in, day-out, play the long game and go about your work the right way. And being a good teammate.

“We’re always in support of him. So I hope he throws the ball well tomorrow, and it’ll be a lot of fun watching him out there.”

“He fires me up. He’s a bulldog on the mound,” Braves first baseman Matt Olson said of Sale earlier this season. “Not just the kind of pitcher that is and the stuff that he has, but his mentality is top notch. That’s why he’s been at the top of this game for so long. He’s gripping it and ripping it.”

The injury happened when Sale, 36, made a diving play on Juan Soto’s slow roller in the ninth inning while trying to complete a shutout against the New York Mets. He completed the play, then struck out the next batter, Pete Alonso, doing it with fractured ribs.

He pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings of five-hit ball that night and came out after 116 pitches. Two days later, when the pain worsened, Sale had X-rays that showed the damage.

The lanky left-hander is nothing if not a “gamer,” which Sale prides himself on. Atlanta teammates knew that long before that night he fractured his ribs, both the ones who played behind him in his first season with the Braves and those who’d previously only faced Sale or watched him from the opposing dugout or on TV.

Players like Braves shortstop Nick Allen, who spent his first three seasons with the Athletics before coming to the Braves this year.

What’s it been like playing behind Sale?

“It’s been awesome,” said Allen, 26. “Obviously I had seen him from afar. Kind of growing up watching him, and then seeing him across the field, and then being a teammate with him, it’s special. He’s such a good guy, and then obviously what he does on the mound is second to none.”

Sale started slowly this season, going 0-2 with a 6.17 ERA in his first five starts. But after spending a lot of time in extra between-starts bullpen sessions and many hours watching film, he made an adjustment in his delivery and saw his performance soar again, as it had in 2024. Sale was 5-2 with a 1.23 ERA in his last 10 starts before the injury.

Asked how he’d gotten his season turned around so resoundingly, Sale made a point of crediting advice from fellow Braves starters Spencer Schwellenbach and Grant Holmes with helping him correct the arm angle on a pitch.

“He just cares about everybody. He’s one of the greatest teammates you’ll ever have,” Snitker said. “And it’s something. He’s a special guy.”

Allen said, “I had never really met him before (spring training). Then when I got to see him in spring training for the first time and to meet him. … Just the way he acts and is just such a good guy. It’s a guy that you can look up to.”

As stern and severe as Sale’s expressions are on the field, teammates see a different side of him every day in the clubhouse, and when they are together at the team hotel, or on a bus or plane.

“He’s goofy in here, likes to joke around with the boys,” Allen said in the clubhouse Friday. “That’s what you get. But then when he’s on the mound, he’s a bulldog. I think that’s what you need.”

Told what so many previous teammates had said about Sale being the “ultimate teammate” in Chicago and Boston, Allen said, “I would agree with that 100 percent. He’s there. He can talk to you, have a conversation. Just an easy guy to be around.”

Now, teammates are pleased that Sale will stride back to the mound Saturday, to see their guy do his thing.

“Oh, 100 percent,” Allen said. “I think everyone is.”

Sale returns with just 27 games left in the season. The Braves have a team-friendly $18 million option on his contract for 2026, which they will exercise, and then will pencil him in at the top of their rotation in his 16th MLB season.

“He’s not one of those, ‘I gotta have this’ or ‘I gotta have that’ guys,” Snitker said. “It’s just — in his words — he’s going to keep slinging it till you take me out.”

Snitker knows the Braves couldn’t have a better example for others to follow.

“He’s a good model for guys to watch and see how he does things, the consistency,” Snitker said. “It’s been a privilege for me to be able to manage a guy like that. Hopefully he’ll be able finish this (season) out; what’s he got, like, five starts or something maybe?”

Sale, who made three rehab starts and threw 77 pitches a week ago at Memphis, won’t have any major restrictions Saturday, though Snitker said he’ll probably be limited to about 90 pitches out of common sense following the layoff.

“This (injury) was just a freak thing that happened,” Snitker said. “Just the competitor that he is, he was trying to make a play. But that’s the good thing, it wasn’t his arm. And he’s been throwing a lot (in recent weeks), so he’s good. But we’ll still keep an eye on what’s going on.”

(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)