Sunday marked the first time Liam Hendriks pitched the ninth inning for the first time, and delivered his best game of the year.
he knew he’d have to earn his closing role again. It’s obviously not easy to return to play practically half a year after receiving a cancer diagnosis, so it’s understandable that Pedro Grifol called for Hendriks in the eighth inning in his first game of the 2023 season. It’s equally understandable that Hedriks wouldn’t be as sharp as usual, so no one begrudged Hendriks when he gave up two runs on three hits in his first appearanceー except for Hendriks of course.
"I will never be OK with mediocrity," Hendriks said after his 2023 debut."I will never be OK with not being at the backend of the bullpen. But, in saying that, I need to earn it. I don't want handouts. I need to earn it. At the end of the day, that's mine. Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weeklyIn his second game back, Hendriks entered in the seventh inning. It was something he didn’t do at all in 2022 and only a handful of times in 2021 when the White Sox were trying to figure out how to accommodate both Hendriks and Craig Kimbrel in the same bullpen. Hendriks was much sharper in his second appearance. He got his first strikeout and didn’t allow any base runners.
Hendriks was called upon to hold Detroit in the final frame, as the Tigers and White Sox were locked at two runs apiece. Out the gate, his slider was the best it’s looked, and when he can throw his slider for strikes, opposing batters usually don’t stand a chance. Sunday was no different. He retired the side easily with two strikeouts and threw 10 of his 15 total pitches for strikes.
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