Red Sox ace Chris Sale lands on disabled list again

The most dominant pitcher in the American League isn’t worried that he was placed back on the DL on Saturday retroactive to Wednesday, but should Red Sox fans be concerned?

BOSTON — Chris Sale insists his shoulder isn’t as sore as the last time he was placed on the disabled list and that with time his shoulder should be fine.

The most dominant pitcher in the American League isn’t worried that he was placed back on the DL on Saturday retroactive to Wednesday, but should Red Sox fans be concerned? The next few weeks should answer that question.

The 6-foot-6, 180-pound southpaw was first placed on the DL on July 31 with mild left shoulder inflammation and he missed two starts before returning to pitch last Sunday in a 4-1 victory at Baltimore. In five innings, he was brilliant, allowing only one hit and no runs while walking none and fanning 12. He threw only 68 pitches while extending his scoreless streak to 28 innings.

“When I started throwing again,” he said in the Sox clubhouse before Saturday night’s game against Tampa Bay, “it really didn’t respond the way we wanted it to. It didn’t really bounce back like we wanted to.”

Sale, 29, said he could have continued to pitch if the Sox were involved in a tight race for the division title, but with a 10-1/2-game lead, the team decided to play it safe and place him on the 10-day DL. Sale said he’s not too concerned.

“Not very,” he said. “I know it’s kind of the same thing we had last time, a little bit less in the pain region and the mobility range than last time so that’s a good sign. We’ll just keep chugging along.”

Sox manager Alex Cora said he wasn’t worried that Sale’s shoulder will act up again later in the season.

“Hopefully, it doesn’t,” he said. “We felt that the last time that he was going to be fine and now it took him awhile after the start, but the way he’s talking, the way he feels, the way Brad [Pearson, Sox trainer] feels about it and the medical staff. We’ll take our time when he comes back. He’s going to be fine, that’s how I feel. I trust our medical staff, I trust the player and I do feel he’s going to be fine.”

Sale, the American League starting pitcher in the last two All-Star Games, has a 12-4 record, leads the league with a 1.97 ERA and is tied for the AL lead in strikeouts with Houston’s Gerritt Cole with 219. He also leads the major leagues in opponent batting average (.175) and strikeouts per nine innings (13.50). Over his last seven starts, Sale has walked only six and fanned 79.

Sale had been scheduled to pitch on Sunday against Tampa Bay on six days rest, but Cora said Hector Velazquez would start instead as long as he wasn’t needed in relief on Saturday night. Reliever Brandon Workman was called up from Pawtucket to take Sale’s spot on the roster.

Sale said the treatment won’t change from the last time he was on the DL.

“Just time,” he said. “It stinks right now where we’re at this point in the season. With inflammation there’s only so much you can do. Rest, as of now. It stinks. I don’t really want to be sitting on the sidelines, especially this time of year with the situation we’re in.”

There is no timetable for Sale’s return. The Sox simply want him right for the playoffs.

“This guy is very important,” Cora said, “to what we’re trying to accomplish and if he needs to skip one, two, three [starts], whatever, we’re willing to do that. He’ll be back. Like he said, he feels better than the last time we put him on the DL. So he’ll get his rest, he’ll go through treatment and we’ll go from there.”

In his seven seasons with the White Sox, Sale was placed on the DL only twice and just once for an arm injury. In 2014, he missed more than a month with a flexor muscle strain in his left arm. He never had a shoulder problem before the past few weeks.

“Obviously terrible timing, not exactly the most ideal situation,” Sale said. “To be honest quite miserable for me. But, at the same time, I’m not going to sit around and pout. I’m going to keep my chin up. I’m on the best team that ever walked the planet. I’ve good teammates that have my back and I appreciate that.”

Bill Doyle writes for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette of GateHouse Media.