Red Sox relief pitcher Liam Hendriks dominated in his first rehab appearance for Triple-A Worcester on Sunday.
Hendriks – who is returning from Tommy John surgery he underwent on Aug. 2 – threw a perfect fifth inning against Lehigh Valley.
He got Kody Clemens to hit a 94.5 mph four-seam fastball for a flyout to center field, Scott Kingery to hit an 86.4 mph cutter for a soft groundout to the catcher, and Darick Hall to hit a 95.2 mph four-seam fastball for a groundout to shortstop.
He threw 12 pitches (10 strikes). He also began his outing with an automatic ball (not included in the pitch count).
He threw seven four-seam fastballs with a top speed of 95.6 mph and an average speed of 94.8 mph. According to Baseball Savant, he also threw three cutters (average speed 86.4 mph), one curveball (82.2 mph) and one slider (85.6 mph).
Hendriks completed three live batting practices before departing for 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’ last live BP. “I’m not saying he’s going to be the guy that comes in here and is the savior of the bullpen, but he’s going to contribute. When that happens, he’s going to contribute. We’re going to take care of him like we always do with our guys coming back from injuries. We still have to be patient, but we’re almost there.”
The 35-year-old right-hander won two AL Rivera Reliever Awards and was selected as an All-Star three times while recording 114 saves from 2019-2022.
However, he has only pitched five innings since the start of 2023. In 1923, he first battled and overcame stage four non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, then returned and played five games before suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament.
The Red Sox signed him on February 20 for two years and $10 million in guaranteed salary, with an additional $10 million available as a performance bonus.
