Red Sox Starter Chris Sale Leaves Game Early With Shoulder Soreness

Fans held their breath after seeing the 34-year-old have his outing cut short.

Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale was taken out of Thursday’s game vs. the Reds in the fourth inning due to shoulder soreness.

After noticing something wrong with Sale’s pitches at the top of the fourth inning, Boston manager Alex Cora and the team’s medical trainer walked to the mound to speak with Sale to make sure everything was O.K. Sale was not taken out of the game at that point. 

However, Cora and the medical staff returned to the mound just two pitches later, which is when Sale was taken out of the game.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora and their medical trainer checked on Chris Sale, left him in the game and then a couple pitches later, removed him from the game with just 59 pitches. pic.twitter.com/3NpVDPvtwS

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 2, 2023

Sale left Thursday’s game having allowed six strikeouts, five hits and one run through 3.2 innings pitched.

Despite Sale leaving early, the Red Sox relief pitchers held the Reds to just a couple runs as Boston won 8–2 to finish the series.

In his 13th season, Sale currently has the highest ERA of his career with, posting a mark of 3.90 through 10 starts. The ace has continued to express his frustration with his play throughout this season, including after his first start back in early April when he admitted to being “embarrassed” by his start.