Chris Sale exits Red Sox game in 4th inning due to left shoulder soreness

During his 3.2 innings of work, Sale gave up one run over five hits while striking out six.

Chris Sale didn't make it out of the fourth inning on Thursday. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

June 1, 2023

1 minute to read

With the Red Sox mired in a 3-7 slump, Boston turned to Chris Sale on Thursday night in search of a bounce-back performance against the Reds.

Instead, the Sox were dealt yet another major setback. After 3.2 innings of work, Sale was taken out of the game by the Red Sox due to left shoulder soreness.

With two outs in the fourth inning, Sale was visited by a trainer following a dip in his pitch velocity. After Sale then walked Nick Senzel, Alex Cora and the trainer pulled him from the game.

Following Boston’s 8-2 win over Cincinnati, Cora didn’t offer a positive outlook moving forward — adding that Sale will undergo an MRI on Friday.

“It’s a sore shoulder. He’ll have an MRI and we’ll hope for the best,” Cora said. “It obviously didn’t look great. The velocity went down — I want to say in the second inning it went from 95 [mph] to 90. Let’s wait and see.”

"Sore shoulder. He'll have an MRI tomorrow and we'll know more."

Alex Cora on Chris Sale's injury | #RedSox pic.twitter.com/vHXpI9e9MU
— NESN (@NESN) June 2, 2023

During his 3.2 innings, Sale gave up one run over five hits while striking out six. He threw only 59 pitches, with 40 counting as strikes.

While there’s no official word yet on Sale’s status moving forward, it’s the latest in a long line of concerning ailments for the ace southpaw.

From 2020-22, Sale only logged 48.1 innings, missing significant stretches due to Tommy John surgery, a fractured rib, a broken finger, and a broken wrist.

Prior to Thursday’s early exit, Sale was on a roll with the Red Sox. Over his last seven starts, Sale posted a 2.91 ERA while striking out 46 batters over 4.1 innings.