Chris Sale seemingly can’t avoid the injury bug.
The Red Sox ace left his start Thursday night against the Reds in the fourth inning and just 59 pitches after dealing with shoulder soreness, the team announced.
The lefty had struck out six and yielded five hits and one run over 3²/₃ innings but was twice visited by manager Alex Cora and a team trainer during the fourth.
On the second visit, the 34-year-old was pulled from the game.
Sale, whose fastball touched 96 mph in the first inning, saw his heater velocity dip all the way down to 89.7 mph during his last frame.
After the game, Cora did not have the most reassuring words about his starter and said he would get an MRI exam on Friday.
“Hoping for the best,” Cora said, according to MLB.com. “Obviously, it didn’t look great. The velo was down in the [fourth] inning. He went from 95 to 90. We’ll wait and see.”
Cora added that Sale wanted to keep pitching but the team removed him from the game out of due diligence.
Chris Sale, left, walks to the dugout after being removed during the fourth inning against the Reds AP“Obviously, it’s not easy because of what he has gone through, but at the end of the day, I have to take care of him. I know he tried to take care of us, but it doesn’t work that way from my end. At the end, it’s Chris Sale of the Red Sox.
“He wanted to finish it, but nah. He gave it a shot, but after that you can’t be irresponsible.”
In his last start, Sale had pitched five innings through stomach distress, according to Mass Live.
During his prime, Sale has been one of the best hurlers in the game but has not been able to remain healthy the past few years.
In 2020, Sale underwent Tommy John surgery and missed a large chunk of 2021.
A combination of injuries — a rib stress fracture, finger fracture and broken wrist — kept him off the field for all but 5²/₃ big league innings last year.
Sale has a 5-2 record with a 4.58 ERA to go along with 71 strikeouts through 59 innings this season.
