Chris Sale, placed on the 10-day disabled list for the second time in a month on Aug. 18 with left shoulder inflammation, began his throwing program Monday.

Chris Sale started a throwing program today... good news for Red Sox — Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) August 27, 2018

The Red Sox are 5-7 since Sale went on the DL for the second time and the Yankees have shaved four games off Boston's American League East lead.

When asked how the shoulder was feeling Sunday after a few weeks of treatment and physical therapy, Sale told the Boston Globe:

"Like Paul Bunyan's ox."

Guessing that means it's strong. Barring no setbacks, it'll likely take about two weeks for Sale to be ready to pitch in games. Manager Alex Cora has said he expects Sale to be back in September.

Sale (12-4) has only pitched five innings since July 28. In that five-inning start in Baltimore, he struck out 12 and reached 97 mph on his fastball. He leads the A.L. in ERA (1.97), WHIP (0.85) and strikeouts per nine innings (13.5).