{"id":101872,"date":"2025-10-02T11:26:37","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T11:26:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=101872"},"modified":"2025-10-02T11:26:37","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T11:26:37","slug":"who-is-connelly-early-meet-red-sox-starting-pitcher-for-game-3-vs-yankees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=101872","title":{"rendered":"Who is Connelly Early? Meet Red Sox starting pitcher for Game 3 vs. Yankees"},"content":{"rendered":"
NEW YORK \u2013 The New York Yankees will turn to a kid to save their season in Game 3 of their American League wild card series: Cam Schlittler, 24, has just 14 major league starts under his belt, his place in the club\u2019s rotation only recently secured.<\/p>\n
Yet Schlittler is a grizzled veteran compared to the cherub the Boston Red Sox will wheel out for this winner-take-all battle Oct. 2.<\/p>\n
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Who is Connelly Early, you ask?<\/p>\n
He\u2019s less than a month removed from his major league debut, which came Sept. 9, which was just a little more than a year since he was toiling for the Class A Greenville (S.C.) Drive in the South Atlantic League.<\/p>\n
And now? A win-or-go-home game, before nearly 50,000 in Yankee Stadium, barely two years removed from the University of Virginia.<\/p>\n
Nervous, kid?<\/p>\n
“Let’s go. Let’s do it,” Early said after the Red Sox suffered a 4-3 loss in Game 2, and roughly a couple minutes after pitching coach Andrew Bailey told him it was his ball for Game 3.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ve stuck to all my preparation and feel pretty good, so I’m ready to go out there and do it.”<\/p>\n
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Not a bad plan, because Early has been pretty nasty in his short time in the major leagues.<\/p>\n
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Must-see action and passion from MLB playoffs’ 2025 Wild Card Series<\/h2>\n
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Tommy Edman is showered with sunflower seeds after hitting a home run during the third inning against the Reds in Game 1.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Must-see action and passion from MLB playoffs’ 2025 Wild Card Series<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>Tommy Edman is showered with sunflower seeds after hitting a home run during the third inning against the Reds in Game 1.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
He relies significantly on a 94-mph fastball in striking out 29 batters in his first 19 career innings. In fact, he struck out 11 in just five innings in his debut, a 1-0 win over the Athletics in West Sacramento.<\/p>\n
The Red Sox lost his final three starts, though he did not give up more than two runs in any of them. And his veteran teammates figure he\u2019ll be unbothered by the bright lights and big stakes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe reminds me a lot of Roman,\u201d says Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran, comparing Early to rookie slugger Roman Anthony. \u201cThey\u2019re so young but they\u2019re so calm, cool and collected.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI can\u2019t wait to see him get on the mound tomorrow with that big smile he has when he\u2019s competing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bailey saw a lot of Early scouring the back fields of Fort Myers during spring training, \u201ckind of keeping my eye on him.\u201d The reports continued to glow as Early blazed through a dozen starts at Class AA and a half-dozen more at AAA Worcester before getting the call.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s answered the bell every single time out,” Bailey said. “To say that it\u2019s a shock, no. We kind of knew what we had and there were things he had to put together. He\u2019s done a great job all year long.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
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