Chris Sale injury: Red Sox lefty leaves game with left shoulder soreness
Chris Sale #ChrisSale
BOSTON – Red Sox lefty Chris Sale, who has been dogged by injuries for much of the last five seasons, was removed from Thursday night’s start against the Cincinnati Reds in the fourth inning because of left shoulder soreness.
Manager Alex Cora and assistance athletic trainer Masai Takahashi first came out to check on Sale after Sale had fallen behind Reds outfielder Nick Senzel 3-and-1. Following a brief consultation on the mound, Cora and Takahashi left to return to the dugout.
Sale then threw a pitch for a ball, walking Senzel. Before he could face the next hitter in the Reds lineup, Sale and the trainer returned, this time to remove him from the game. A frustrated Sale trudged off the mound with his glove covering much of his face.
Prior to his removal, Sale had started the night strong, fanning six of the first eight hitters he faced. The Reds then connected for two hard-hit doubles in the third to account for a run. In the fourth, there was more hard contact against him, with two more doubles and a flyout to right before Cora made his first mound visit.
The lefthander’s velocity was down compared to recent starts. In the third and fourth innings, he threw several four-seam fastballs between 90-92 mph.
Sale has been star-crossed in recent seasons. He underwent Tommy John surgery in March of 2020 and missed all of the pandemic-shortened season. He returned in August of 2021 for the final six weeks of the season and pitched in the postseason that fall as the Sox reached the ALCS.
But even before spring training began in 2022, Sale suffered a rib fracture that sidelined him for the first three months of the season. After a return to the mound, in his second start of the year, he was struck on his left pinky finger by a comebacker in Yankee Stadium. As Sale was recovering from that, he was involved in a bike accident near Boston and broke his left wrist, officially finishing his season.
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