On Monday night, the stars aligned and the baseball gods treated fans to a first-class pitching duel in the Atlanta Braves’ home opener against the San Francisco Giants. Starting for the Braves was a rejuvenated Chris Sale, who made the 2024 NL All-Star team, and for the Giants, it was Blake Snell, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, who is currently in top form. This pitching duel looked exciting on paper and delivered on its promise, and fans were impressed with the pitching duel they just witnessed.

Sale managed 12 strikeouts in seven innings, allowed no walks, and allowed just three hits – a pitching performance that deserves recognition. But then Snell caught up with him; in front of a raucous Oracle Park crowd, the Giants starter struck out 11 Braves batters, allowed just three walks, and allowed just two hits in 6.1 innings. Suffice it to say, neither left-hander allowed a single run, as the batters simply weren’t able to mount any sort of challenge against these two elite left-handers.

As Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic points out, it has been over 14 years since a pitching duel of this caliber took place at the Giants’ home stadium.

“If you feel like we’re witnessing something special in this pitching duel between Blake Snell and Chris Sale, it’s because we are. It’s the first time two opposing starters have combined for 10-plus strikeouts in a game in SF since Cole Hamels and Tim Lincecum on April 28, 2010,” Baggarly wrote.

It wasn’t just Braves and Giants fans who rightly had their jaws dropped after an epic duel between two of the best left-handed starters in today’s game. Even neutral fans who witnessed this duel couldn’t help but express their admiration on social media.

At the time of writing, the score is 0-0 and the game is heading into extra time, shaping up to be a finish that will delight one team and infuriate the other, especially after performances from Chris Sale and Blake Snell that are well worth winning.

Chris Sale and Blake Snell play for the Braves and Giants respectively

Chris Sale looked like damaged goods after the 2023 season ended. But then the Braves decided to trade the former AL Cy Young Award winner for cheap, and Sale turned in one of the best seasons of his career. Through Monday night, Sale had a 2.75 ERA and a 165:30 strikeout-to-walk ratio – making him the favorite to win the 2024 NL Cy Young Award.

But then there’s Blake Snell; the Giants’ signing of Snell looked like a disaster after the 31-year-old starter suffered a variety of injuries early in the year and his performance declined along with his health. But now Snell appears to be healthier than ever, and he’s returned to his dominant ways on the mound. Snell has a 1.15 ERA since returning from the IL on July 9 – an elite mark that only got better thanks to his elite performance that matched Sale’s step for step on Monday.