The Boston Red Sox are making changes prior to their weekend series with the Atlanta Braves… just not the ones everyone was expecting.
Liam Hendriks was placed on the injured list with right hip inflammation on Friday, ending a recent run in which he allowed 10 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings pitched — including a walk-off grand slam against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday.
Nick Burdi was recalled to fill his place on the active roster.
Boston has been up-and-down when it comes to the bullpen, which was clearly overworked, leading to a few disastrous outings bookending a decent stretch. Burdi’s re-entry into the fold should help ease the burden, as he had a decent first stint with the big-league club, pitching 2 1/3 scoreless innings before being sent back down to Triple-A Worcester.
Hendriks’ issues date back to around May 8, when he went two innings for the first time, according to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. Boston mainly tried using him in a low-leverage role, but things reached a point (he had a fairly pronounced limp throughout his last several appearances) where they couldn’t keep trotting him out there.
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The Red Sox and Braves will kickstart their series at Truist Park on Friday, with first pitch scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET exclusively on Apple TV+.