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Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale prematurely exited his second start of the season Sunday after getting hit in his left pinky by a line drive against the Yankees.
The devastating injury occurred in the bottom of the first inning after Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks drilled the left-hander’s 87 mph changeup, sending it flying back toward the mound at an exit velocity of 106.7 mph. Sale took the hit directly in his pinky and briefly went to the ground before popping back up and immediately walking to the dugout.
The Red Sox later announced Sale suffered a “left fifth finger fracture,” according to WEEI.
Hicks’ hit drove Gleyber Torres in from second base to give the Yankees an early 3–0 lead with New York sitting at two outs. Boston replaced Sale with right-hander Hirokazu Sawamura, who induced an Isiah Kiner-Falefa groundout to end the inning.
Sale’s injury adds another frustrating setback for the Sox ace in what only was his second appearance of the season. The seven-time All-Star made his return against the Rays on July 12 after sitting the first three months with a stress fracture in his right rib cage. Sale, who missed all of the 2020 season due to Tommy John surgery, allowed zero runs on three hits in five innings pitched in Boston’s 3–2 loss to Tampa Bay.
