Early’s historic start among fascinating Red Sox-Yankees Game 3 subplots originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Red Sox’ 4-3 loss to the New York Yankees on Wednesday night was a tough pill to swallow for Boston fans.

Advertisement

But if you’re a fan of intriguing storylines and high drama, you’re in for a treat.

Boston and New York are tied at 1-1 in their best-of-three American League Wild Card series entering Thursday’s 8 p.m. ET finale in the Bronx. The winner advances to the Division Series to face the Toronto Blue Jays and the loser starts its offseason early.

The stakes are sky-high — and the fate of both teams rests on the arms of two rookies.

Let’s dive into the subplots that will make Thursday’s Game 3 at Yankee Stadium one for the history books:

Connelly Early making historic postseason debut

The Red Sox will start left-hander Connelly Early, who was promoted to the majors less than a month ago (Sept. 9) and has made just four starts at the big-league level.

Advertisement

If you’re wondering how many pitchers have been in Early’s position before as a recent call-up starting an elimination playoff game, the answer is … zero.

In fact, Early will be just the fifth pitcher to make a postseason start of any kind within his first five MLB appearances, and the first to do so since Tampa Bay’s Shane Baz and Atlanta’s Dylan Lee in 2021.

The good news for Red Sox fans: Early has looked sharp in his four starts to date, allowing two runs or fewer in every outing. He owns a 2.33 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 29 strikeouts over 19.1 innings. The 23-year-old didn’t exactly face elite competition, however, facing the Athletics (twice), Tampa Bay Rays and a scuffling Detroit Tigers squad.

Advertisement

Early will face his stiffest challenge yet in a Yankees lineup that led Major League Baseball in OPS (.797), home runs (70) and RBI (239) against left-handed pitchers this season.

Not that the rookie is shying away from the challenge.

“I’m excited to get out there,” Early told reporters Wednesday. “I’ve stuck to all my preparation and feel pretty good, so I’m ready to go out there and do it.”

Rookie with local ties gets the start for Yankees

Early won’t be the only fresh face on the mound Thursday night. New York is rolling with 24-year-old right-hander Cam Schlittler, who made his MLB debut on July 9 and has just 14 big-league starts under his belt.

Advertisement

Between Early and Schlittler, Thursday will be the first MLB playoff game ever featuring two starters with fewer than 15 career appearances under their belts.

Schlittler, who posted an impressive 2.96 ERA and 1.22 WHIP over those 14 starts and pitched seven scoreless innings in his most recent outing against the Baltimore Orioles, has plenty of ties to Boston. Born in Walpole, Mass., he attended Walpole High School, played college baseball at Northeastern and spent the summer of 2021 playing in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Harwich Mariners.

In an ironic twist of fate, Schlittler may not have many family members in attendance Thursday, as the Yankees barred Massachusetts residents from buying tickets through Ticketmaster. But he’s managed to convert many close to him to root for New York over Boston.

“I take pride in being from Boston. When it came to my career and where I want to be, this is where I want to be,” Schlittler told reporters Wednesday. “They are full Yankee guys now. They don’t wear it around as much in Boston, just because. When they are here (in New York), they are very prideful about it.”

How’s that Red Sox bullpen looking?

Alex Cora’s bold move to pull Brayan Bello after just 28 pitches Wednesday meant Boston had to use six different relievers to finish the game.

Advertisement

But with the exception of Garrett Whitlock — who threw 47 pitches and took the loss — none of those relievers threw more than 25 pitches, and Cora told reporters Wednesday that everyone minus Whitlock should be available.

“We’ll check with Whit, right? Get a lot of treatment and see where we’re at (Thursday),” Cora said. “But the rest, they’re in good shape.”

Early didn’t make it past the fifth inning in any of his previous four starts, so how Cora manages Boston’s bullpen could decide the outcome of this game.