NEW YORK – 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’s rotation only recently secured.
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.
Who is Connelly Early, you ask?
He’s 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.
And now? A win-or-go-home game, before nearly 50,000 in Yankee Stadium, barely two years removed from the University of Virginia.
Nervous, kid?
‘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.
“I’ve stuck to all my preparation and feel pretty good, so I’m ready to go out there and do it.’
Not a bad plan, because Early has been pretty nasty in his short time in the major leagues.
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.
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’ll be unbothered by the bright lights and big stakes.
“He reminds me a lot of Roman,” says Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran, comparing Early to rookie slugger Roman Anthony. “They’re so young but they’re so calm, cool and collected.
“I can’t wait to see him get on the mound tomorrow with that big smile he has when he’s competing.”
Bailey saw a lot of Early scouring the back fields of Fort Myers during spring training, “kind of keeping my eye on him.” 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.
“He’s answered the bell every single time out,’ Bailey said. ‘To say that it’s a shock, no. We kind of knew what we had and there were things he had to put together. He’s done a great job all year long.”
Early’s college career began at Army and, like Paul Skenes at Air Force, he transferred after two years to keep his professional options open. He landed at Virginia, where he went 12-3 and prompted the Red Sox to spend a fifth-round pick on him.
Certainly, Early’s time in the spotlight may be limited in Game 3, given Red Sox manager Alex Cora’s aggressive postseason managing style and the massive stakes of the game. He limited Game 2 starter Brayan Bello to just 28 pitches over 2⅓ innings in Game 2.
At the same time, ace Garrett Crochet, another lefty, powered through the Yankees lineup in Game 1 and compelled manager Aaron Boone to keep lefties Jazz Chisholm and Ben Rice on the bench.
Boone said after Game 2 that Chisholm would start Game 3, but was non-committal, for now, on Rice.
So Early’s plan is simple: Go as long and as hard as he can. His teammates can’t wait to see the results.
“Early’s been amazing,” says reliever Garrett Whitlock, the losing pitcher in Game 2. “Really proud of the stuff that he’s done so far this year. I love watching him pitch, so I’m really excited to see him.’
