Don’t tell Boston Red Sox reliever Liam Hendriks it’s only a spring training game.
Hendriks, who spent all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery and had several rehab outings in the minor leagues before being shut down, made his first appearance of the exhibition slate Wednesday and pitched a scoreless fourth inning in an 8-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
The way the veteran right-hander ended his outing certainly drew a reaction. Hendriks punched out Taylor Walls with a breaking ball to strand a runner at second, which led to an emphatic fist pump and a shouted expletive from Hendriks as he walked off the mound.
“It’s really hard to do it (celebrate) in a minor league setting last year,” Hendriks told reporters, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “You also come across as kind of a (expletive) when you do it in the fourth inning of a spring training game.”
The energetic outburst wasn’t an act from Hendriks. The Australia native routinely let colorful language fly for all to hear as he pitched live batting practice on the mound at Fenway Park last season.
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Hendriks’ showing Wednesday was a good first step in possibly becoming the full-time closer for the Red Sox. He touched 96 mph on the radar gun and didn’t let a one-out single from fellow countryman Curtis Mead, or a steal of second from Mead for that matter, rattle him.
“I didn’t see a 92 (mph), which was nice,” Hendriks said. “Velo was good. Kill pitch wasn’t quite there just yet … First one in a while and it’s nice to get that one out the way and under the belt and we can move on from here. Having to come in after (Aroldis) Chapman, everything looked like a changeup anyway.
“Clean inning and the only hit I gave up was to the stupid Australian.”
Featured image via Chris Tilley/Imagn Images
