Liam Hendriks had plenty to celebrate Sunday on National Cancer Survivors Day.
The White Sox’ closer made his first ninth-inning appearance of the year and retired the Tigers in order, firing up the Guaranteed Rate Field crowd along the way.
“He went out there and kind of got back to his authentic self, fist-pumping and screaming a little bit,” teammate Michael Kopech said. “That’s what we’ve all been expecting to see, and he let it out, so it’s good to see.”
It got better for Hendriks and the Sox in the bottom of the ninth, when they walked off the Tigers 6-2 for a three-game sweep, thanks to Jake Burger’s grand slam.
That gave Hendriks the win in his first -decision and third appearance since rejoining the team after battling non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
“It’s been an emotional week,” said Hendriks, who made his 2023 debut on -Memorial Day and allowed two runs in one inning against the Angels. He followed that with 1-2-3 innings against the Tigers on Saturday and Sunday.
“That’s my first time going back-to-back up here,” Hendriks said. “The stuff ticked up, as well, which is nice. My wife said, ‘Today you’ll get your first win on National Cancer Survivors Day,’ and that’s the thing that’s pretty special.”
Hendriks embraces his role as a public face of cancer awareness as someone who has gone through treatment and been declared a survivor.
“Hopefully I can continue moving forward and continue somewhat of at least doing the right thing and give some people some hope to continue fighting,” he said.
Manager Pedro Grifol and Hendriks’ teammates have talked about how their closer’s journey is bigger than baseball. But there’s no denying having Hendriks back to his old self adds to the good vibes for a bullpen that has turned into a strength after a challenging start.
Kendall Graveman and Keynan Middleton each have active streaks of 13 consecutive scoreless outings. Gregory Santos has a 1.40 ERA in his last 23 appearances, Joe Kelly had a recent run of 10 scoreless outings and Reynaldo Lopez has allowed just one earned run since May 14.
Now Hendriks is back to complete the back end.
“It’s huge,” Grifol said of Hendriks’ earning the win. “But he’ll probably be the first one to tell you that it’s huge, but more important is the fact that he’s starting to feel -stronger and stronger. That’s his goal, just to build that work capacity back up and be available every day.”
“A lot of it is mental,” Hendriks said. “I didn’t necessarily feel great body-wise. But I think that’s the one thing I’ve gotten used to over the last several years.
“You are not going to feel good but you can convince yourself you are doing well. I’m happy to go out there and put us in a position where it’s a little bit normal.”
One of the things that’s still normal for Hendriks, even in his 13th MLB season, is feeling an adrenaline rush when he heads to the mound late in games.
“[Butterflies] are always still there,” he said. “If you don’t get that, you’re dead inside. I want the nervousness.
“I try to get that out in the seventh inning when I do my visualization meditation stuff. You are still playing a game, but there are still things on the line. Use that to your advantage.”
Just as he does the knowledge that he’s -already overcome something tougher than any hitter he’ll ever face.
