Two Boston Red Sox on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester posted standout nights on Sept. 5.
The Sox eagerly await the return of Trevor Story and the debut of reliever Liam Hendriks, who near the end of their rehab stints with the WooSox. Boston's bullpen is depleted and the offense has looked even worse in recent games, and the two fresh players could help bring life to the lineup during a crucial stretch in its wild card chase.
Story opened his rehab assignment hot with a two-hit outing that included a double on Sept. 1. He went hitless in his next two games, but finished out a back-to-back nicely with a 4-for-5 outing with two RBI on Sept. 5.
The Red Sox have mentioned consecutive appearances as an important benchmark for both Story and Hendriks' returns. Before their first game against the White Sox on Sept. 6, Alex Cora shared that he expects to activate Story off the IL on Saturday, Sept. 7. Ceddanne Rafaela will get most of his playing time at second base for the rest of the year.
Hendriks has yet to post consecutive relief outings during his stint, but his performance has been encouraging so far.
Trevor Story posts 4-for-5 night in rehab assignment, expected to be activated Sept. 7
The veteran posted a one-hit, scoreless appearance on Thursday night. The outing was the sixth appearance of his rehab stint, during which he hasn't allowed a run — his perfect ERA bodes well for a Red Sox debut soon.
Before his Sept. 5 inning, Hendriks hadn't pitched since Aug. 30. Alex Cora told reporters that he was a bit tight after his previous relief appearance and that he will not throw on back-to-back nights yet. Cora said Hendriks will appear again on Sept. 8, the target date for his Red Sox debut against his former team, the White Sox.
Liam Hendriks nears Red Sox debut after sixth scoreless outing, needs to pitch back-to-back nights first
Red Sox' Alex Cora said Liam Hendriks will not go back to back today and tomorrow.
— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) September 5, 2024
Cora: "It's going to be one and then the next one I think is going to be Sunday. It's not that he didn't bounce back great. But he was a little bit tight. And that's part of the process."
Red Sox avoid injured list stint for Justin Slaten after he exited Sept. 4 game with hurt knee
Chicago is far and away the worst team in the league this season — and possibly in MLB history — so hopefully Boston can get by without bullpen reinforcements for one more series. The Red Sox experienced a scare on Sept. 4 against the Mets when another reliever left the mound with an apparent injury.
As he collected the final out in the seventh inning of Boston's series finale in Queens, Justin Slaten stumbled off the mound. The righty limped a few steps from the hill and grabbed his knee as he walked off the field.
Luckily for the Sox, Slaten is okay. NESN's Jahmai Webster reported the righty "tweaked" his knee, but he'll avoid a stint on the injured list. Boston already has two relievers on the IL — its trade deadline didn't go as planned after Lucas Sims and Luis García were moved to the 15-day IL on the same day.