Early success! Sox rookie ties franchise record with electric 11-K debut

WEST SACRAMENTO -- Connelly Early was early. Fitting.

By the time the Red Sox left-hander arrived in Sacramento late Monday night, he knew his Major League debut would come Tuesday against the Athletics. It was just a matter of passing the time.

Early did what he could. He went to breakfast with fellow rookie starter Payton Tolle. He finished up the scouting reports he prepared on A’s hitters. Still, it couldn’t come fast enough.

“I was waiting around for what seemed like a really long time,” he said. “It was just moving really slow when I was in the hotel.”

When his moment finally came, Early made it worth the wait.

The lefty delivered one of the best pitching debuts in Red Sox history, striking out 11 A’s in five scoreless innings in Tuesday’s 6-0 win. He scattered five hits, walked one and tied Don Aase (1977) for the franchise record for strikeouts in a Major League debut.

“I can’t really think of a better way to start your career,” outfielder Rob Refsnyder said.

It’s indeed hard to picture a more impressive debut for Early, Boston’s No. 6 prospect, who was called up from Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday as right-hander Dustin May (right elbow neuritis) landed on the injured list. With a 2.60 ERA in 21 Minor League games, Early certainly proved worthy of a callup.

But perhaps no one expected this.

Early had never struck out 11 batters in a professional game. In fact, he just set his career high of 10 K’s in his last start for Worcester on Sept. 2. In three collegiate seasons between Army and Virginia, he never reached 11 K’s in a game. Pressed postgame, he couldn’t remember a time he ever had.

Early sure picked a good spot to do it.

The southpaw recorded at least one strikeout on five pitch types, including six with his four-seam fastball. He danced right out of the third inning after giving up back-to-back one-out hits, then loaded the bases with one out in the fourth. Early fanned Darell Hernaiz on a curveball and struck out Lawrence Butler on a sinker to end the threat, hopping off the mound in excitement while screaming, “Come on!”

“There was some traffic there, but he never panicked and gave us five, and that was good enough,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.

Early’s start was far more than “good enough” for the Red Sox, whose final two rotation spots behind Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito have been in flux all season. Cora said before the game it was too soon to tell whether Early would stick around for more than a spot start, but based on the lefty’s performance, it seems quite likely.

Among Red Sox pitchers, only Crochet (with 12 on June 1) has had more strikeouts in a game than Early. Prior to Crochet, the last Boston hurler with more than 11 K’s was Eduardo Rodriguez, back in 2019. And that says nothing of debuting pitchers -- Early’s strikeout total was the highest by any pitcher in his MLB debut since Freddy Peralta fanned 13 Rockies on May 13, 2018.

The significance of his stellar start had yet to hit Early, who seemed more pleased with the outcome than his own individual performance.

“Hasn’t really settled in too much yet, but we won the game, and that’s what I want to do every single day I go out there to pitch, no matter where it is,” he said.

Early was grateful for the considerable run support he received Tuesday before ever throwing a Major League pitch. The Red Sox hit two home runs in the first inning, including Romy Gonzalez’s leadoff dinger against A’s starter Jeffrey Springs.

“Obviously, it didn’t look like [Early] needed it,” Gonzalez said. “He had a pretty sick performance.”

It was the second straight shutout tossed by the Red Sox, and both have been fueled by a special start. Crochet gave Boston seven scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts on Monday before Early dominated in Tuesday’s debut.

For a team that allowed an average of 6.8 runs in its previous five games, it was a welcome development.

“We’re going to go as long as our pitching,” Cora said. “We didn’t pitch for a little bit there -- for five days or whatever -- but we’re back on track.”

That’s in large part thanks to Early, who delivered a debut for the ages Tuesday night.

“Hats off to him,” Gonzalez said. “It was real cool to watch.”