Not even a week after returning from a stint on the 10-day disabled list, Red Sox ace Chris Sale was placed on the DL once again Saturday (retroactive to Aug. 15) after the lingering effects of mild left shoulder inflammation cropped up between starts.
Sale threw five dominant scoreless innings Aug. 12 against the Orioles, piling up 12 strikeouts on just 68 pitches, and was set to start again Sunday. But in his throwing sessions between starts, he felt discomfort in his shoulder.
“When I started throwing again [between starts], it just kind of didn’t respond the way we wanted it to,” Sale said. “Didn’t really bounce back like we wanted it to. So just kind of adjust and map things out and see where it takes us.”
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The obvious concern late in the season — with the Sox holding the best record in baseball and a 10½-game lead in the AL East entering Saturday — was how the injury would affect such an important piece of their rotation.
“Obviously terrible timing,” Sale said. “Not the most ideal situation. To be honest, it’s quite miserable for me. But at the same time, I’m not going to sit down and pout. I’m going to keep my chin up. I’m on the best team that’s ever walked the planet. I’ve got 15 guys that got my back and I appreciate that.”
Sale first went on the DL July 31 when he started to feel soreness after a stretch of starts. He was expected to miss just one start but ultimately missed two before returning against the Orioles.
In this instance, Sale said the pain wasn’t to the same extent it was initially, but it was enough for the Sox to decide to take extra precautions.
“I think it’s the smart move,” said manager Alex Cora. “This situation’s just a process — before the start, during the start, and after the start. It was taking him a while after the start and where we’re at right now, not only as an organization but with the individual, we have to take care of him.
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“This guy’s very important to what we’re trying to accomplish and if he needs to skip one, two, three, whatever, we’re willing to do that. He’ll be back.”
Since he was hired last fall, Cora has been vigilant about protecting Sale’s health, limiting his pitches in spring training and finding extra rest days over the course of the season.
“It’s more about the player, honestly,” Cora said. “We’ve been trying to take care of this guy since November and we’ll keep doing that.”
With a 12-4 record, 1.97 ERA, and 219 strikeouts, Sale has been very effective in his 23 starts this season.
At the same time, the Sox have a 10½-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East with 38 games left in the season.
If the race were closer, Sale said, he’d “probably” be on the mound.
“I would assume so,” he said. “It’s kind of hard to say given the situation we’re in. A lot of what-ifs in that scenario. But I feel like I could probably get out there if push came to shove.”
Sale said he understood the organization’s cautious approach but was still frustrated by having to sit out.
“We’ve still got a lot of season left, we don’t want to overlook that,” he said. “But at the same time, we want to able to kind of sprint across the finish line and not limp into it. So like I said, bad timing obviously.
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“Everybody that knows me knows I’m not the biggest fan of what’s going on right now, but it is what it is. You deal with it, keep your chin up, put one foot in front of the other, and just keep grinding.”
Cora acknowledged that when he found out Sale’s injury had resurfaced, he was “a little bit scared, honestly.” But he was confident that the team was taking the proper steps to ensure another trip to the DL won’t be necessary.
“We do feel that where we’re at he’ll be fine,” Cora said. “When? We don’t know. There’s no timetable. We’re not going to put pressure on him to go back up there and perform. But for what this situation is, we’re comfortable with it.”
Filling in
Who takes Sale’s spot in the rotation Sunday depends on how things played out Saturday. If Hector Velazquez wasn’t needed out of the bullpen — and he wasn’t in the 5-2 win — he’ll start Sunday.
Rick Porcello, Nathan Eovaldi, Brian Johnson, and David Price will be the probables for the Cleveland series. Then Cora will reevaluate his options.
Eduardo Rodriguez is set to begin a rehab assignment on Monday, but Cora was hesitant to say if he could return as early as next weekend in Tampa.
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“I’m not saying there’s a chance he’ll pitch in Tampa, but we’ll see how it goes,” Cora said. “But we’ll stay with the same. We’re not going to move people up because of where we are right now.”
Staying power?
When the Rays introduced the concept of an “opener” — a scheduled bullpen start — this season, the reception was that the idea was either revolutionary or ridiculous.
For Cora, the approach obviously poses unique challenges.
“It’s a difficult team to prepare for but you have a pretty good idea who’s going to come after the opener, so you go accordingly,” Cora said.
But he was hesitant to say the role of an “opener” has staying power beyond the Rays’ experiment this season, especially considering the Rays’ wealth of talented young arms, from Blake Snell to Tyler Glasnow to Jose De Leon to Yonny Chirinos.
“I don’t think so,” Cora said. “If you start looking at their program and who they have — you know, the trades and everything — next year their rotation is going to be a good one.
“Right now I’ve got my own team I’m dealing with, but there’s a comfort level with having those guys going six, seven innings from the get-go. I don’t see it happening. We’re still paying guys a lot of money to give you 200 innings. It’s very important.”
Julian Benbow can be reached at jbenbow@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @julianbenbow.