Red Sox reliever Liam Hendriks dominated in his first rehab outing for Triple-A Worcester on Sunday.
Red Sox reliever Liam Hendriks throws a bullpen July 26. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)Getty Images
Hendriks — who is returning from Tommy John surgery he underwent last Aug. 2 — pitched a perfect fifth inning against Lehigh Valley.
He got Kody Clemens to fly out to center field on a 94.5 mph four-seam fastball, Scott Kingery to ground out softly to the catcher on an 86.4 mph cutter and Darick Hall to ground out to shortstop on a 95.2 mph four-seam fastball.
He threw 12 pitches (10 strikes). He also started his outing off with an automatic ball (not included in the pitch count).
He threw seven four-seam fastballs, topping out at 95.6 mph and averaging 94.8 mph. He also threw three cutters (86.4 mph average velo), one curveball (82.2 mph) and one slider (85.6 mph), per Baseball Savant.
Hendriks threw three live batting practice sessions before heading out on his rehab assignment.
“It‘s a good fastball. It’s a different fastball than what we have in the bullpen,” manager Alex Cora said Wednesday after Hendriks’ final live BP. “I’m not saying he’s going to be a guy that will come here and be the savior of the bullpen but he will contribute. If this happens, he will contribute. We’ll take care of him like we always do with our guys coming from injuries. We still have to be patient but we are almost there.”
The 35-year-old righty won two AL Rivera Reliever awards and earned three All-Star selections while recording 114 saves from 2019-22.
But he has pitched only five innings since the start of 2023. He first battled and overcame Stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in ‘23, then returned to appear in five games before tearing his ulnar collateral ligament.
The Red Sox signed him Feb. 20 for two years and $10 million in guaranteed money with an additional $10 million available in performance bonuses.
