As the Boston Red Sox look to really push their playoff race into gear, a potential impact addition to the bullpen looms through injury recovery.
Liam Hendriks tossed a perfect inning with Triple-A Worcester on Sunday and stayed in New England to make another appearance on Thursday night with Double-A Portland.
Hendriks entered the game to start the sixth inning against the Somerset Patriots, the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. The Red Sox reliever allowed a leadoff single before getting Grant Richardson to line out to left field. After allowing a stolen base, Hendriks walked Cole Gabrielson before departing from the game.
Hendriks previously shared that there's still areas of his outings to sharpen before he feels ready to join the MLB team in Boston. The veteran reliever specified that he wanted to pitch back-to-back outings in that process, as he shared with reporters after Sunday's outing in Worcester.
As each rehab outing comes and goes, the intrigue of adding Hendriks to a Red Sox bullpen in need of quality innings elevates with the season's final month on the horizon.
The Red Sox sit 3 1/2 games out of the final playoff spot in the American League as they welcome the Arizona Diamondbacks to Fenway Park for a three-game series beginning on Friday night.
