ATLANTA — Chris Sale threw his first complete game in more than seven years Thursday night, shutting out the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0 on five hits and 11 strikeouts to complete a three-game sweep at Truist Park — on a night he later revealed he'd learned of a close friend's death just before first pitch.

Sale, 37, found out via text that Ashley Foss, a financial advisor who worked closely with his agent, B.B. Abbott, had died shortly before he took the mound. According to Fox Sports' account of the game, manager Walt Weiss said Sale was "on a mission" from the opening pitch.

Fastest Pitch in Eight Years

In the third inning, Sale reached back for a 100.1 mph fastball against Shohei Ohtani — his fastest pitch since July 2018. He needed 109 pitches, 80 of them strikes, and walked no one across nine innings, lowering his ERA to 2.06 and improving to 13-9 on the season. Drake Baldwin gave Atlanta all the run support it would need, homering on the very first pitch of the game off Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto in front of 39,650 fans, per ESPN's box score and recap.

Sale wasn't necessarily planning on going the distance alone — until he was. Weiss said that after the eighth inning, Sale walked into the dugout and told his teammates flatly that he intended to finish the job himself.

"THIS IS MINE." — CHRIS SALE, AFTER THE EIGHTH INNING, PER MANAGER WALT WEISS

"He was on a mission ... you could see it. He was attacking from the first pitch," Weiss said after the game, adding: "I always talk about how the Hall of Famers are just different, and that's a perfect example right there." Sale connected the day's emotional weight directly to his performance: "If you ever needed more incentive, that's all you're going to need right there," he said of learning about Foss's death, before adding of the outing itself, "I'm just thankful to get through it, man. I pride myself on working hard and giving my team a chance to win," according to CBS Sports.

It was Sale's first complete game since 2019 and comes during a career renaissance that has seen the seven-time All-Star, who battled injuries for years after being traded to Boston, reestablish himself as one of the National League's most dominant starters since joining Atlanta. Beating a Dodgers lineup that includes Ohtani, on a night with that much emotional weight, only adds to the moment's staying power in the Atlanta clubhouse.

What's next: the win completes a statement sweep of the Dodgers heading into the stretch run, and keeps Sale squarely in the conversation for a second career Cy Young award as Atlanta pushes for playoff positioning in September.