Associated Press
| The Detroit News
West Sacramento, Calif. – Late night, Early show.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early struck out 11 in five shutout innings to match a franchise record during his major league debut Tuesday night against the Athletics.
The only other Red Sox starter to rack up 11 strikeouts in his first career game was Don Aase versus Milwaukee on July 26, 1977.
“It was amazing, just to go out there and have that first opportunity,” Early said after getting the win in a 6-0 victory. “A long day of travel yesterday and just getting to the field, seeing all the guys, seeing guys that you don’t even imagine being next to most of the time. So it was amazing and just a bunch of joy.”
Early was called up from Triple-A Worcester to start Tuesday after Dustin May went on the injured list with elbow issues.
Boston manager Alex Cora said Early’s composure stood out the most.
“Since he got here, under control during the meetings, in the clubhouse, in the training room. He was prepared, too, which was eye-opening,” Cora said. “He did his own homework, went through it with the coaching staff, and he executed. There was some traffic there, but he never panicked and gave us five, and that was good enough.”
The 23-year-old lefty from Virginia, who allowed five hits and a walk, fanned rookie slugger Nick Kurtz in the opening inning for his first big league strikeout. Early struck out the side in order in the second and whiffed three batters again in the fourth, leaving the bases loaded when he got Darell Hernaiz with a slider and Lawrence Butler on a sinker.
“I think we just did a good job at keeping a constant mix,” said Early, who threw 61 of his 90 pitches for strikes. “I was able to get some swing and misses down at the bottom of the zone on secondary pitches, and I think we did a really good job, especially making some big-time pitches when runners were on.”
With his family in the stands, Early had two strikeouts in the third and two more in the fifth.
“They’ve been with me every step of the way,” Early said. “Just being able to have them here is amazing and have them see me go out there and take that mound and, I mean, I know that they probably have a bunch of feelings about it and everything – and were definitely fired up at some spots. So, it’s great to have them here and I’m really looking forward to seeing them.”
Early was selected in the fifth round of the 2023 amateur draft and was Boston’s sixth-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline. He became the third Red Sox starting pitcher to make his MLB debut this season, joining Hunter Dobbins and Payton Tolle.
“When they get here they’re ready to go, and they have contributed,” Cora said.
Early was 3-1 with a 2.83 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings for Worcester this season. He went 7-2 with a 2.51 ERA for Double-A Portland, with 96 strikeouts in 71 2/3 innings.
In his first big league game, he was handed a 5-0 lead in the second inning.
“Having those two homers from our offense in the first inning is great, and just trying to stay moving in the dugout, stay as warm as possible and be ready to go from pitch one,” Early said. “When you get a lead like that, 4-0 after the first, you’re trying to just step on them and keep attacking.”
May, acquired from the Dodgers at the end of July, was placed on the IL, retroactive to Sunday, with right elbow neuritis. May went 1-4 in five starts and one relief appearance with Boston. He has a 5.40 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings with the Red Sox.
With the Dodgers, the 28-year-old right-hander was 6-7 with a 4.85 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 104 innings.
Also, the Red Sox recalled infielder Vaughn Grissom from Triple-A and placed him on the 60-day injured list with plantar fasciitis.
Dodgers open two-game lead in NL West
Los Angeles – Teoscar Hernández hit two home runs and Emmet Sheehan pitched seven splendid innings to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Colorado Rockies 7-2 on Tuesday night.
Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts also went deep for the Dodgers, who increased their lead in the NL West to two games over San Diego. The second-place Padres lost 4-2 at home to Cincinnati.
Sheehan (6-3) allowed three hits and struck out nine. He retired his first 15 batters before Kyle Karros, son of former Dodgers first baseman Eric Karros, singled to left field leading off the sixth.
In 2023, Sheehan threw six no-hit innings in his major league debut.
The right-hander yielded just one run Tuesday, when Tyler Freeman hit an RBI single in the sixth.
Betts hit a two-run homer to left-center to make it 3-0 in the third. Hernández had three hits, including solo homers in the fourth and eighth to reach 80 RBIs.
Colorado has lost a franchise-record 105 games – and there are still 17 remaining.
Ramírez homers as Guardians beat Royals
Cleveland – Joey Cantillo allowed four hits in a career-best eight-plus innings, José Ramírez homered, doubled and scored twice, and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Kansas City Royals 2-0 on Tuesday night for their fifth straight victory.
Cantillo (5-3) struck out five and didn’t issue a walk. Cade Smith pitched a scoreless ninth for his 12th save for the Guardians, who entered play 2 1/2 games behind Seattle for the final wild-card spot.
Ramírez, who had three hits, hit a solo homer off Royals starter Noah Cameron (7-6) with two outs in the first. David Fry hit the second of back-to-back to doubles to drive in Ramírez in the fourth.
Cameron, a 26-year-old rookie, gave up two runs on six hits with eight strikeouts in seven innings.
The Guardians, who has won six of seven, beat the Royals 10-2 in the series opener Monday.
Bobby Witt Jr. returned from a three-game absence and Jonathan India was activated off the 10-day IL for Kansas City.
Blue Jays put Bichette on 10-day IL
Toronto – The Toronto Blue Jays put shortstop Bo Bichette on the 10-day injured list Tuesday because of a sprained left knee, retroactive to Sept. 7.
Toronto recalled outfielder Joey Loperfido from Triple-A Buffalo.
Bichette leads the majors with 181 hits and 44 doubles, and ranks third with a .311 average. The two-time All-Star and two-time AL hit leader has 18 homers and leads Toronto with 93 RBIs in 139 games.
Bichette was injured in the sixth inning of Saturday’s 3-1 loss at Yankee Stadium when he collided with catcher Austin Wells and was tagged out at home plate. Bichette hobbled off the field with the assistance of a trainer after colliding with Wells’ shin guard.
Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger made a 95.3 mph, one-hop throw from right field to retire Bichette, who was trying to score on a single by Nathan Lukes. It was the final play before rain delayed the game for nearly two hours.
Bichette had X-rays during the delay and returned to strike out in his final at-bat. He did not play in Sunday’s series finale. Toronto was off Monday.
The Blue Jays lead the AL East by two games over the New York Yankees with 19 games remaining, starting with Tuesday’s home game against Houston.
Young fill-ins keep Rangers in playoff contention
Arlington, Texas – All of those rookie fill-ins are keeping the injury-plagued Texas Rangers in playoff contention.
Center fielder Michael Helman hit a grand slam while driving in all of their runs against baseball’s best team and Jacob Latz, while not a rookie but still a youngster, threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings Monday night in a 5-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers that got Texas as close as it has been to the AL West lead in more than three months.
“These kids have done a great job,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “Just doing a nice job of doing something every game they’re playing, it seems like, to help us win a ball game.”
The series opener against the Brewers (89-56), who have the best record in the majors and could in this series become the first team to officially clinch a playoff spot, came after Texas won two of three over AL West-leading Houston with other rookies impacting those wins.
Texas has won 12 of its last 16 games to get within 3 1/2 games of Houston for the first time since May 30. The Rangers have 17 games remaining, including three in Houston next week, and are 1 1/2 games behind division foe Seattle and a game ahead of Cleveland for the American League’s final wild card.
Dustin Harris, just called back that day when Adolis García went on the injured list, hit a game-ending double in the 12th inning Friday night. That drove in Cody Freeman, another rookie, for a 4-3 win in the opener against the Astros.
That series ended with a 4-2 win Sunday when Freeman hit a two-out single in the sixth, then scored from first on Josh Jung’s double to break a 1-all tie before Jake Burger’s homer.
Texas is 11-5 in the games Freeman has started – at second base, third base, right field and designated hitter.
The Rangers opened last week with a 7-5 win at Arizona when rookie Alejandro Osuna had a two-run single in the 10th inning.
“It’s awesome,” Helman said. “Obviously it’s unfortunate with all the guys that we’ve lost. But some of us younger guys just have to come in here and try and play a role on this team, and try and be in situations to help us win ballgames.”
Helman hit the first grand slam of this season for the Rangers. It was the first time in his 30 big league games that he batted with the bases loaded.
This playoff push comes with the Rangers missing their half-billion dollar middle infield of two-time World Series MVP shortstop Corey Seager (appendectomy) and second baseman Marcus Semien (broken bone-sprained ligament in left foot). Slugging right fielder Garcia (right quad strain) could potentially return, while outfielders Evan Carter (season-ending right wrist fracture) and Sam Haggerty (left ankle) are also out.
The 29-year-old Latz (2-0), who has now started seven of the 79 games he has pitched in parts of four seasons for the Rangers, has made three starts in a row in what had been the rotation spot of Nathan Eovaldi (11-3, career-best 1.73 ERA) before a right rotator cuff strain put him on the IL.
Texas has also lost pitchers Cody Bradford, Tyler Mahle and Jon Gray to injuries, and deadline addition lefty reliever Danny Coulombe is on the IL with shoulder fatigue.
Latz, a lefty, struck out four, walked one and allowed only three singles against the Brewers.
“What a job he did,” Bochy said.
“Yeah, it’s just a reminder, it doesn’t matter when you’re pitching or what role you’re in, it’s just going out there and executing the pitch,” Latz said. “Being in the bullpen, I’ve said it a a few times, it’s helped me just take each pitch, each batter the same.”
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