Liam Hendriks is latest White Sox player to hit injured list

Relief pitcher Liam Hendriks is the latest White Sox player to hit the injured list. The veteran closer will be out for at least three weeks with a right forearm strain.

Hendriks has appeared in 25 games this season, going 1-2 with a 2.81 ERA. He leads the American League with 16 saves.

I always cringe a little when I hear a pitcher has a forearm strain. Those are often the precursor to a torn elbow ligament, which requires Tommy John surgery.

Hendriks appeared in 69 games for the Sox last season, and once appeared in 75 games for the Oakland Athletics in 2019. At age 33, he does have some mileage on his arm. 

There's no question he is very important to whatever chance the Sox have of getting back in the American League Central race, so here's hoping the three-week timetable for a return is accurate.

The Sox did not require a closer Tuesday night, as they defeated the Detroit Tigers, 5-1.

Dylan Cease (5-3) needed 108 pitches to get through five innings, but ultimately, he had a successful outing. The right-hander improved to 10-0 in 11 lifetime starts against the Tigers. He allowed one unearned run on seven hits. He struck out eight and walked one.

In a baseball oddity, Cease has allowed 10 runs over his past four starts, but none of them have been earned. He is the first pitcher since 1913 to allow at least one run, but no earned runs, in four straight starts. 

Cease's ERA is 2.91.

The top three batters in the Sox lineup collected eight of the team's 12 hits. Andrew Vaughn went 4 for 4 with four singles, a walk, a run scored and an RBI. Luis Robert was 2 for 4 with a run scored and two RBIs.

AJ Pollock now has six consecutive multihit games. On Tuesday, he was 2 for 5 with a double and two runs scored.

The Sox bullpen worked four scoreless innings. I suspect Jimmy Lambert is heading back to Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday when Vince Velasquez is scheduled to come off the injured list, but Lambert served his purpose with two scoreless innings Tuesday.

Joe Kelly came off the injured list to take Hendriks' spot on the roster, and he worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning with two strikeouts. His stuff looked impressive.

Reynaldo Lopez allowed a two-out single but nothing more in the ninth. He recorded two strikeouts in his scoreless inning.

The Sox are 29-31.