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How Red Sox rookie overcame ‘really, really bad spot’ to ‘save the game’
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- How Red Sox rookie overcame ‘really, really bad spot’ to ‘save the game’
BOSTON — Interim manager Chad Tracy caught himself after he initially said rookie Connelly Early won Friday’s game for the Red Sox in the third inning.
“Or I wouldn’t say we won the game — that saved the game because that was a really, really bad spot," Tracy said.
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The Red Sox won 2-0 over the Rays behind seven scoreless innings from Early, who improved to 3-2 with a 3.16 ERA in eight starts this season.
Early escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the third inning. He struck out Ryan Vilade swinging on a 94 mph four-seam fastball, then got 22-year-old superstar Junior Caminero to ground into a 5-4-3 double play.
“It was the turning point in the game,” Tracy said.
Early added, “Huge double play. I think from that moment, we had all the momentum.”
Caminero already has 10 home runs this season after belting 45 homers during his age 21/22 season in 2025.
Early got him to hit a weak grounder on a first-pitch changeup that was low in the strike zone.
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“He’s a obviously dangerous hitter,” Early said. “Really good hitter. So just trying to execute pitches. (He) chases a little bit, but still gets the barrel to the ball a pretty good amount of the time. So honestly, just trying to let the defense do the work behind me.”
Early let out a yell and pointed to his defense.
“Just big rush of adrenaline and excited to watch the offense go out after that,” Early said.
The Red Sox took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the inning when Wilyer Abreu connected on a 1-2 slider from Rays starter Jesse Scholtens and sent it 427 feet to right-center field.
Abreu said Early escaping gave the Red Sox “really good energy.”
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“It was amazing,” Abreu said about Early’s overall performance. “It was really fun to watch him pitch.”
Early allowed just four hits and one walk while striking out eight. This was the longest start of his professional career (minors and majors). His previous longest start was 6 ⅔ innings in a win at Baltimore on April 26.
“He was controlling counts, ahead and he actually leaves some in the tank and he starts to get stronger as the game goes on,” Tracy said. “You’re seeing a lot of 92s, 93s and then you get to the end there and you’re seeing 96s. So he had plenty in the tank left. And the strikeouts started to pile up more as the outing went along. So just a really, really good outing.”
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