The Red Sox’s season is riding on the left hand of a rookie with 19 ⅓ major-league innings under his belt.
Southpaw Connelly Early, who only debuted Sept. 9, takes the ball for the decisive Game 3 of the wild-card series against the Yankees on Thursday night at Yankee Stadium.
He will be the first pitcher to ever start a winner-take-all playoff game within 30 days of his debut, per Stats Perform.
“It’s going to be really fun,” Early said after the Yankees forced Game 3 with a 4-3 win Wednesday night. “It’s 1-1 now, so comes down to this game and I’m excited to get out there.”
The Red Sox originally would have used veteran right-hander Lucas Giolito, but he suffered an elbow injury that knocked him out of this series and potentially longer, should Boston advance to an ALDS showdown against the Blue Jays.
Enter Early, a 2023 fifth-round pick from the University of Virginia.
The 23-year-old is Boston’s No. 6 prospect, according to MLB.com, but is not considered a top-100 minor leaguer.
He appeared in one minor-league game in 2023, split time between Single-A and Double-A in 2024 and then pitched in Double-A and Triple-A earlier this season.
Early posted a 4.40 ERA spanning six Triple-A starts before the Red Sox summoned him in September to help their depleted rotation.
He said he could not have imagined at the beginning of the year being in this spot to extend his team’s season.
“No, but I’m in that position now so gotta go out there and trust my stuff,” Early said.
Early had a sensational debut in Sacramento on Sept. 9 when he struck out 11 A’s while throwing five shutout innings to earn his first career win.
He held the A’s to one run over 5 ⅓ innings in his second start, before suffering the losses in his final two starts before the postseason.
Early allowed three runs (two earned) in four innings in a 7-3 loss to the Rays on Sept. 21 and then yielded two runs in five innings in a 2-1 loss to the Tigers on Sept. 27.
He finished 1-2 with a 2.33 ERA, while striking out 29 batters.
Early throws six pitches, per Baseball Savant, while predominantly relying on his fastball (29 percent), curveball (21 percent) and changeup (20 percent).
His four-seamer averages 94 mph, while his sinker (13 percent) sits at 93 mph.
Beyond the implications of this being a win-or-go-home game, Early also will face his toughest task Thursday since the Yankees led the majors in runs scored and has the sixth-best OPS vs. lefties (.774).
“I’m super excited about it,” Early said of his start. “Really good feeling, and just ready to get out there.”
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