Chris Sale’s injury troubles continue. The 34-year-old lefty’s latest ailment will officially cost him at least two starts.

Prior to Friday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, manager Alex Cora confirmed Sale has been placed on the 15-day IL. The injury is described as ‘left shoulder inflammation.’

• Sale injured his shoulder during his Thursday night start against the Cincinnati Reds. He left the game in the fourth inning after 59 pitches.

  Shortly after the announcement of his IL placement, Sale spoke with the media at Fenway Park. He told reporters doctors expect to have a more definitive diagnosis of his condition early next week, but he doesn’t expect to need any procedures to fix it.

  Sale has battled through quite a bit to get back on the mound this season. After getting shut down with elbow soreness in August of 2019, he’d go on to start just 11 games total over the next three seasons due to a run of injuries ranging from Tommy John surgery to a broken wrist suffered in a bike accident.

• Red Sox manager Alex Cora and their medical trainer checked on Chris Sale, left him in the game and then a couple pitches later, removed him from the game with just 59 pitches. pic.twitter.com/3NpVDPvtwS

  — Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 2, 2023

• What makes this injury especially tough for Sale is the timing. He’d been pitching as well as he had since that 2019 season. In his six starts leading up to the injury, he was 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA, with opponents hitting just .191 against him. During that stretch he had 41 strikeouts in 36 innings, to just five walks.

  To fill Sale’s spot on the roster, the Red Sox activated Corey Kluber from the Paternity List. Kluber began the season in the rotation for the Sox, but was moved to the bullpen two weeks ago after a run of poor starts. The team hasn’t publicly indicated whether it will be Kluber filling Sale’s spot in the starting rotation, or someone else. They also have Nick Pivetta, who like Kluber was recently moved from the rotation to the bullpen.

  The Red Sox begin a four-game in-division series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night. Tampa comes into the game owning the best record in baseball at 40-18, 10 games up on the Red Sox in the division. Garrett Whitlock will get the start for the Red Sox, against Tyler Glasnow for the Rays.

• Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at [email protected].

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