Sox ace Sale nearing return

CHICAGO — Chris Sale will make at least one more minor league rehab start before the Boston Red Sox decide if their ace is ready to join their rotation after being sidelined all season because of a rib injury.

Manager Alex Cora said Friday the seven-time All-Star is close to returning.

Sale struck out seven over four innings for Double-A Portland on Thursday. Cora said his mechanics were sound in his third rehab outing and he felt “physically great.” The 33-year-old left-hander is scheduled to pitch for Triple-Worcester on Wednesday.

“We’ll see,” Cora said. “He’s getting close. We’ll talk about it and go from there.”

Sale, signed through 2024 on a five-year, $145 million deal, fractured his rib cage in spring training. He is 114-74 with a 3.03 ERA and 2,059 strikeouts over 321 big league appearances. He has thrown 42 2/3 innings for the Red Sox since the end of the 2019 season.

Sale went 5-1 with a 3.16 ERA in nine starts in his return from Tommy John surgery last year. He missed the 2020 season.

The Red Sox were tied for second in the AL East with the Toronto Blue Jays at 43-33 entering Friday’s game against the Chicago Cubs. They went 20-6 for their highest June win total since a 20-9 showing in 1990.

Boston closed the month by dropping two of three at Toronto. Outfielder Jarren Duran and closer Tanner Houck did not accompany the team because they weren’t vaccinated for COVID-19.

Duran said being away from his teammates convinced him to reconsider his stance. He vowed to be available when Boston returns to Toronto in late September. Houck wouldn’t say if he will be, too.

“I just miss the boys and miss playing baseball,” Duran said. “It’s kind of the deciding factor.”

CHAPMAN ACTIVATED

The New York Yankees reinstated reliever Aroldis Chapman from the injured list Friday after the left-hander missed more than a month with tendinitis in his left Achilles tendon.

Chapman hasn’t pitched in the majors since May 22. He made two minor league rehab appearances at Double-A Somerset and one with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre.

The 34-year-old Chapman was 0-2 with a 3.86 ERA and nine saves in 17 games before he was placed on the IL on May 24.

On Thursday in Houston, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he may use Chapman in a variety of roles before he closes again. Boone’s goal is to get Chapman “in rhythm” before using him in high-leverage situations.

Even when Chapman is ready, it’s unlikely he’ll take over closing duties from Clay Holmes, who has been virtually unhittable in that role this season. The righthander is 4-0 with a 0.49 ERA and 14 saves in 35 games.

Before opening a three-game series against the Guardians, the Yankees also placed right-hander Miguel Castro on the paternity list.

SCHERZER TO RETURN FROM IL TUESDAY

Max Scherzer is scheduled to return to the New York Mets’ rotation Tuesday in Cincinnati after missing over a month with a strained left oblique muscle.

Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, has been sidelined since straining his oblique while pitching against St. Louis on May 18.

“If you look at the timeframe of this injury over the course of a lot of history, you look at other people with this injury and what’s the usual timeline, he’s met all the criteria,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. Friday.

Scherzer made a pair of rehab starts for the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies and threw 80 pitches Wednesday against the Hartford Yard Goats. The right-hander allowed three runs — two earned — and four hits in 4 innings, striking out eight and walking one.

“I have a much better grasp on what this is,” Scherzer said Friday. “I definitely crossed that six week timeline so you feel a lot more confident. You feel it’s starting to get in my rearviewmirror.”

Scherzer also threw 65 pitches on June 20 for Binghamton against Reading, allowing two runs and three hits in 3 innings with six strikeouts and a walk.

After signing a $130 million, three-year contract, baseball’s highest average salary, Scherzer is 6-2 with a 2.54 ERA in eight starts during his first season with the Mets.