Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale had a broken pinkie finger on his pitching hand after being hit by a line drive against the New York Yankees on Sunday, yet another setback in an injury-plagued year for the Boston ace.
Sale screamed out in pain after being struck by Aaron Hicks' 106.7-mph liner with two outs in the first inning at Yankee Stadium. The ball deflected into right field, allowing Gleyber Torres to score from second base. Sale immediately came off the field as he flashed his painful-looking finger injury to manager Alex Cora.
The southpaw exited the game with the Yankees leading 3-0 and was replaced by Hirokazu Sawamura. The Sox later announced that Sale had suffered a broken left pinkie.
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The Red Sox announced Monday that Sale had undergone surgery at the Newton-Wellesley outpatient surgery center. The team has not said how long the pitcher is expected to be out as he recovers from his latest injury.
The seven-time All-Star was hurt on the final day of play before the All-Star break.
The 33-year-old Sale was making just his second start after a stress fracture in his rib cage, along with a non-baseball medical issue, kept him off of a major league mound for the first three months of the season. He suffered the rib injury while working out on his own during MLB's lockout.
He threw 78 pitches in five scoreless innings Tuesday at Tampa Bay, and tossed 24 pitches at Yankee Stadium before being forced to leave Sunday after giving up three runs (two earned) on two hits and recording two outs.
Sale, who is signed through 2024 in a five-year, $145 million deal, has thrown just 48 1/3 innings for the Red Sox since the end of the 2019 season. Last season, he went 5-1 with a 3.16 ERA in nine starts in his return from Tommy John surgery.
Boston began the day 15 1/2 games behind the AL East-leading Yankees, who have the best record in the majors.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report
