Sox lose Story to left shoulder injury
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story suffered a grim left shoulder injury that forced him out of Friday night’s series opener against the Angels.
With one out in the bottom of the fourth inning, Mike Trout ripped a hard ground ball to the left side of the infield. Story made a spectacular play to grab the ball with a diving backhand, but when he hit the grass just beyond the infield with his right arm fully extended across his body, he immediately started writhing in pain, kicking his legs, and holding his left shoulder as teammates winced.
Sox manager Alex Cora and trainer Brandon
Henry immediately sprinted to check on Story. After approximately two minutes, Story stood up under his own power but held his left arm pinned to his side as he briskly walked off the field. He went straight from the dugout to the clubhouse.
As he walked across the infield, Story looked despondent, repeatedly shaking his head. He was replaced at short by Pablo Reyes.
The Red Sox announced at the outset of the sixth inning that Story left the game with “left shoulder pain.”
For Story, Friday’s injury comes at a particularly frustrating time, as the 31-year-old had been elated for a healthy start to the 2024 season after he’d missed significant chunks of his first two seasons with the Red Sox while on the injured list. He entered Friday hitting .241/.313/.345, but showing the ability to get to high-velocity fastballs in a way that had been impossible while coming back from elbow surgery in 2023.
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Chris Martin is entering historic company.
The 37-year-old righthander had delivered four scoreless appearances thus far this year, working around four hits by walking none and punching out five, entering Friday. Martin hadn’t allowed a run in 24 appearances dating to July 30 — the fourth-longest streak of consecutive scoreless outings in
team history. Only Koji Uehara (27, 2013), Josh Taylor (26, 2021), and Daniel Bard (25, 2011) have had longer.
Martin’s path to success is atypical for a bullpen arm. Though he has solid mid-90s fastball velocity, he has a rarely seen five-pitch mix (four-seamer and sinker, cutter, splitter, and slider), with the ability to locate everything in the strike zone. He has the mix and execution of a starter, condensed into late-inning stints against the heart of opposing teams’ lineups.
“What Marty has done, pitching in high-leverage situations, facing the best of the best whenever he goes out there — that’s his pocket, and he’s been great,” Cora said. “His stuff is really good, [and] he knows where to go with it.”
A year ago, Martin got off to a slow start, landed on the injured list in April with shoulder fatigue, then was almost perfect for the rest of the season. This year, he was brought along slowly in spring training, but appears to have timed his readiness perfectly to the start of the season.
“Hopefully he stays healthy,” Cora said. “That’s the most important thing, because if we accomplish that, he’s gonna be in a good spot.”
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Liam Hendriks’s locker in the visitors clubhouse was festooned with gold streamers and balloons. Next to it, there was what appeared to be a giant container of the Australian, um, delicacy, Vegemite. Upon closer inspection, the Vegemite was a fondant decoration of a cake celebrating a landmark in Hendriks’s career.
Thursday’s offday marked 10 years of big league service time for the reliever. The rehabbing righthander was taken out for a celebratory meal by members of the bullpen. His wife had the cake made and waiting in the visitor’s clubhouse when Hendriks arrived.
“I didn’t realize only 6 percent of big leaguers ever get to this mark. It’s something special, especially in this day and age where there’s a lot more fluidity on a roster. It hasn’t been the easiest of journeys,” Hendriks said, noting that he made his big league debut in 2011. “It took me four years [of shuttling between the big leagues and minors] to get my first year of service time, and then lost another couple months in 2018 getting [designated for assignment by the A’s]. So it’s taken me 14 years to get to this point.”
Hendriks is on the 60-day injured list while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, and he wasn’t at the park Thursday for his actual 10-year milestone. Still, the 35-year-old is pleased with the progress of his rehab as he works toward a return this season.
On Friday, he threw on flat ground from 90 feet, part of a steady bulidup.
“I’m trying to push the envelope to let me get further. They’re trying to hold me back a little bit. We’re meeting in the middle,” Hendriks said. “Everything’s going in the right direction. And I’ve been recovering really well, which is the biggest part.”
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Cora has an ongoing text chain with rehabbing second baseman Vaughn Grissom (hamstring) and outfielder Rob Refsnyder (broken toe), both of whom remained at the team’s facility in Fort Myers, Fla., to start the season while working their way past injuries.
“Ref said that Vaughn is dominating rookie ball pitchers over there in live [batting practice], and then Vaughn said that Ref is hitting the ball harder than anybody in camp,” Cora said with a chuckle.
The Sox are hopeful Grissom and Refsnyder will soon be testing their skills against more advanced competition. They’re scheduled to be in Boston for the home opener Tuesday, at which time they will be reassessed to see if they are ready (or near ready) for rehab assignments.
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The Red Sox entered the series opener with a 1.54 ERA, lowest not only in the big leagues but also for any Sox team through seven games in the Live Ball Era (1920-present) . . . They also entered Friday tied for third in the American League with eight steals while allowing just one theft, tied for the fewest in the AL . . . Friday marked the Angels’ 2024 home opener. The Angels in uniform and alumni walked down a fan-surrounded red carpet into the ballpark as part of the festivities . . . In the WEEI booth, Medfield native Tyler Murray, one of the play-byplay broadcasters for Triple A Worcester, made his big league debut. He continues the rich legacy of the PawSox/WooSox broadcast pipeline . . . A rain-orshine open house at Fenway Park is set for Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring access to many parts of the ballpark, alumni autographs, and a collection of memorabilia celebrating Tim Wakefield.