The injury bug seems to have struck again for perennial ace Chris Sale (34-Boston Red Sox).
Sale started a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, on Sunday (February 2).
But he didn’t make it through the fourth inning.
Facing Cincinnati’s Nick Senzel at second base in the bottom of the fourth inning with his team down 0-1, Sale threw four pitches on a 2-ball-1 strike.
Boston manager Alex Cora and a trainer visited the mound and spoke with Sale briefly.
Sale continued to pitch, working a full count, but eventually walked Senzel.
Cora took the mound once again and replaced the pitcher with Justin Garza.
Sale was pulled after 3⅔ innings, allowing one run on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts. He threw 59 pitches.
“Sale was removed early due to left shoulder soreness,” MLB.com and other local media outlets reported.
He was up to 96 mph (154.5 km/h) early in the game, but his velocity dropped into the low 90s in the third and fourth innings.
Sale was once considered one of the best pitchers in baseball. He broke into the big leagues in 2010 and was named an All-Star for seven straight years from 2012 to 2018. He posted double-digit wins each of those years, and in 2018, he led Boston to a World Series title.
However, after signing a five-year, $145 million extension with Boston in 2019, he went downhill.
He missed the entire 2020 season due to elbow surgery, and in his first year back in 2021, he went 5-1 with a 3.16 ERA in nine starts.먹튀검증
Last year, he went 2-1 with a 3.18 ERA while battling broken ribs and a broken finger, and was lost for the season after fracturing his right wrist in a bicycle accident in August.
This year, Sale opened the season healthy and was 5-2 with a 4.72 ERA in 10 starts.
Just when he seemed to be on the cusp of a comeback, another injury halted his progress.
