The Boston Red Sox are making changes before their weekend series with the Atlanta Braves … just not the ones everyone expected.
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.
The club recalled reliever Nick Burdi to fill his place on the 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 reentry 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+.
