The Boston Red Sox are getting ready for a final showdown with their eternal rivals, the New York Yankees, in the rubber match of the Wild Card series. They’ve elected to put rookie Connelly Early on the mound, and hope he dominates.
The Sox ace who should be on the mound, Lucas Giolito, praised Early highly, saying he just needs to take the ball and start pitching.
“I think that he is very, very mature, both as a pitcher and as a human being. That combination lends itself to being prepared to take on a situation like this. The stuff is real. He’s throwing four or five pitches for strikes. You usually don’t see that in a young arm. You’ll see electric stuff. But the pitchability aspect is the real deal. I think it’s an advantage that they have never seen him before. Just take the ball and go,” Giolito said (via Rob Bradford).
Giolito was supposed to be on the mound today, but he’s been ruled out of the postseason with an elbow injury.
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Now, Early will have to take his four regular season starts of experience into this final Wild Card Game. However, it shouldn’t make fans too nervous, as Early posted a 2.33 ERA in those four starts, with 29 Ks, and a WHIP of 1.086.
Hopefully, Early’s lack of playing time actually takes New York by surprise, and the Sox get a legendary game out of him.
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