Chris Sale now will be away from the mound again after suffering another injury Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
The Boston Red Sox left-hander exited the contest with two outs in the first inning after suffering a left fifth finger fracture, as shared on the NESN broadcast. The update indicates Sale broke the pinkie finger on his throwing hand.
The injury occurred as Sale took a line drive to the throwing hand on an eventual single by New York Yankees left fielder Aaron Hicks. Sale, after going to the ground hard, immediately got up and made his way to the Red Sox dugout with manager Alex Cora and company coming onto the field. Sale held up his throwing hand with the pinkie out of place.
The veteran pitcher returned to the Red Sox dugout in the fourth inning with his hand and wrist wrapped.
The Red Sox did not announce any sort of timetable regarding Sale's recovery.
Sale was pitching in just his second game of the season Sunday. He previously missed the first three months of the campaign due to a stress fracture in his rib cage, which came on the heels of Sale missing the entire 2020 season and the majority of 2021 following Tommy John surgery. He's made just 11 regular-season starts dating back to 2020, including Sunday's.
It makes it tougher to swallow given that Sale impressed during his season debut Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Rays. However, it looks as though the left-hander again will head to the injured list.
