The Boston Red Sox and Chris Sale can’t seem to catch a break. In just his second start of the season, Sale was struck in the hand by a line drive comebacker off the bat of Aaron Hicks in Boston’s series finale with the New York Yankees yesterday. According to team beat writer Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, the embattled hurler underwent surgery today. 

Chris Sale underwent an open reduction and internal fixation of a left fifth finger proximal phalanx fracture today, Red Sox say.

— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) July 18, 2022

Sale had just returned on July 12th for his first start of the season after recovering from a stress fracture in his ribs. The seven-time All-Star has seen just nine starts since the beginning of the 2020 campaign. 

The Red Sox have not given a timetable on his return, but Sale will likely be out at least 4-6 weeks.

In a small sample size, the 33-year-old put up a 3.18 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 5.2 innings this year.

After dropping ten of their past 13, Boston’s odds are slipping at FanDuel Sportsbook. The BoSox sit at +134 to make the playoffs and -164 to miss 2022’s postseason.