Liam Hendriks took a deep breath and glared at Freddy Galvis. He came set and prepared to uncork his 31st pitch of the day. Under normal circumstances, a closer throwing 31 pitches in a day would spell disaster.
But Liam Hendriks was working on his second save of the day. Three and a half hours earlier, Hendriks was in a high five line after completing a 1-2-3 inning and locking down a 7-4 White Sox victory over the Orioles.
Hendriks hurled a 88 mph slider near the bottom of the strike zone. Galvis could not resist, ending the game with a swing and a miss. Hendriks turned and let out a primal scream with a fist pump to put an exclamation point on his 12th save of the season. The 32-year old Australian is beginning to round into form.
His strikeout of Galvis completed his blitz of the Orioles on Saturday afternoon. He faced six batters retiring all of them in short order. Out of the six batters, five were strikeout victims. Hendriks has struck out eight of the last nine hitters he has faced.
Liam Hendriks is the first White Sox to convert saves in both games of a doubleheader since Bobby Jenks on 9/4/2010 at Boston. (Via Elias) pic.twitter.com/WZ1MqU7Efl
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 29, 2021
In his previous outing against the Cardinals on May 25th, Hendriks entered the game with a bases-loaded, nobody out jam in the ninth inning. Hendriks was electric striking-out Lane Thomas, Max Moroff, and Tommy Edman. His stuff has been electric, blowing people away with his 98 mph fastball and buckling them at the knees with his sharp breaking slider.
This is the closer the White Sox envisioned when they inked Hendriks to a 54-million dollar contract. Hendriks was the coveted free-agent signing by the White Sox this offseason. They were eager to put their new toy out of the bullpen to use, which is why the early results were so disappointing.
Hendriks allowed a home run in his first appearance in a White Sox uniform. He then blew a save against the Royals in his debut at Guaranteed Rate Field after serving up a home run to Carlos Santana. The home run was one of four allowed in his first 9.1 innings of work. Hendriks has given up at least one run in six of his 22 outings.
Since his rocky start, Hendriks is beginning to round into form. He has not allowed a run his past seven games, while also notching five saves. The White Sox have championship aspirations and there is a reason they have entrusted Hendriks to lock things down in high-level situations. He ended the White Sox season in 2020 and was named MLB Networks best reliever in baseball heading into the 2021 season.
The past two seasons Hendriks led all relief pitchers in saves, ERA, and fWAR. He also ranked second in opponent OPS and strikeouts while finishing fourth in innings pitched.
It should be noted that despite the rocky start, Hendriks’s numbers this season have not been that bad. He has a 2.14 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched. But when you come to a new team with high expectations, the microscope tends to get focused on you.
Saturday’s performance showcased everything that makes Hendriks valuable. He notched two saves, did not allow a base runner, struck hitters out, and was durable pitching multiple innings. Liam Hendriks is the first White Sox to convert saves in both games of a doubleheader since Bobby Jenks on 9/4/2010 at Boston.
After Tuesday’s outing against the Cardinals, manager Tony La Russa outlined why the White Sox lean on Hendriks in crunch time.
“In two months, we’ve tested him in some really difficult situations,” La Russa said. “He has real good stuff. And he’s more than that. He’s a pitcher, with real good stuff. He has two or three ways he can go after a hitter. We are lucky to have him. It was a great move to add him to our bullpen.”
Hendriks looks like he has a renewed swagger on the mound and, that is a scary thought for opposing hitters, especially come October.
