Boston Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale suffered a fractured pinkie on his pitching hand when he was struck by a comebacker in the first inning Sunday against the New York Yankees.
With two outs, Aaron Hicks hit a 106.7 mph line drive off Sale’s left hand. The ball deflected into center field as Gleyber Torres scored to give New York a 3-0 lead.
Sale screamed out in pain, immediately came off the field holding up his injured hand and was replaced by Hirokazu Sawamura. The Red Sox announced later Sunday that Sale has a left fifth finger fracture.
The 33-year-old Sale was making his second start since returning from a fractured rib that cost him the first three months of the season. He threw 78 pitches in five scoreless innings Tuesday at Tampa Bay and threw 24 pitches Sunday before leaving the game after allowing three runs (two earned) on two hits while facing six batters.
During the major league lockout, Sale broke a rib while working out on his own.
Sale, who is signed through 2024 on a five-year, $145 million contract, has thrown just 48 1/3 innings over 11 starts for the Red Sox since the end of the 2019 season.
Last season, the seven-time All-Star went 5-1 with a 3.16 ERA in nine starts in his return from Tommy John surgery.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.