(Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images)

With their season off to a terrible start, the Atlanta Braves could use a better version of pitcher Chris Sale than they have seen through his first three starts in 2025.

On Sunday afternoon in familiar surroundings, Sale and the Braves will try to win their three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Sale situation could just be a slow start out of the gate for the left-hander. Or it could be some kind of nuisance preventing him from posting anything close to the stellar 2024 numbers that earned the 15-year veteran the National League Cy Young Award.

In that campaign, the 36-year-old, who grew up in nearby Lakeland, Fla., went 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA in 29 starts to help the Braves to the playoffs in his first season in Atlanta.

In 177 2/3 innings, Sale struck out 225 batters, allowed just 141 hits and posted a 1.01 WHIP. Opposing batters hit only .216 with nine homers.

Now here in mid-April, those numbers are a far cry from this season's.

Over 14 2/3 frames, Sale is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA, allowing 11 runs and 19 hits as opposing batters have improved by nearly 100 points (.306 average).

In particular, the speed on his four-seam fastball -- in the mid-90s last season -- has dropped noticeably this year.

'It just hasn't clicked yet,' said Sale. 'It's frustrating, obviously.'

Across 25 career appearances (23 starts) against the Rays, Sale is 11-7 with a 3.04 ERA and one save, as the club has batted just .203. He holds a 1.06 WHIP.

The Braves rocked four homers, including the game-winner by Michael Harris II in the ninth inning, to erase a two-run deficit and win 5-4 on Saturday.

Sean Murphy hit two solo homers and Ozzie Albies added one.

During the slow start, Sale said his team could definitely turn the season around, which had that look Saturday.

'Luckily, at this point of the season, we have time,' said Sale of his club, which dropped seven straight road games to start 2025. 'We don't want to lean on that too hard. We want to get it going eventually. But we have confidence in this clubhouse in who we have and what we can do.'

Tampa Bay got a 3-for-3 day from Jonathan Aranda, who homered, had three RBIs and walked twice to reach base all five times.

'I'd like to think our guys could put some crooked numbers up here, but we just haven't,' said manager Kevin Cash, whose squad scored just one run after loading the bases twice with less than two outs.

Rays right-handed hurler Shane Baz is 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA over his first two starts.

The Houston native was dominating with a high-90s fastball and nasty curve in home outings against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Angels, much more so versus the former.

Baz overpowered Pittsburgh with a career-high 10 strikeouts without a walk in his first start, earning a win on April 1.

He will make his debut against Atlanta facing a club that entered Saturday's game as one of nine hit-starved teams with a batting average below .220, as the NL East postseason regulars checked in at .219.

However, Atlanta produced 15 in the victory to even the series.

--Field Level Media