Washington Nationals pitcher Connelly Early made his rescheduled rehab appearance on Tuesday night with Triple A Rochester
The Washington Nationals will look to stay hot with a chance to secure the first five game win streak of the 2026 season in the 14th and final meeting against the Philadelphia Phillies. Yet Tuesday also saw the next phase in Connelly Early's rehab after making an appearance in Triple A as the Rochester Red Wings fell, 9-8.
Tuesday's appearance marked the rescheduled outing for Early after Sunday's game in Harrisburg was canceled due to weather, leading the Nationals' trade deadline acquisition to start on Tuesday night. Yet it did not go as hoped.
After walking his first batter, Early notched his first strikeout after a 79 mph curveball got the batter to chase on a 2-2 count before a challenged third strike delivered the second strikeout of the inning.
Yet the second inning did not fare as well after giving up a leadoff single on a line drive into right field, then a walk to put a pair of runners on. Another single into right field would then load the bases, leading to an end for Early's night after manager Matt LeCroy turned to Jack Cebert, who was acquired in the Luis Garcia trade with the New York Yankees ahead of the deadline, out of the bullpen.
Early picked up the loss after posting a final stat line with two strikeouts, two walks, three earned runs and a pair of hits across one inning, ending his night on 35 pitches.
Whether Early does pitch again in the minors remains to be seen, but what has become increasingly clear is a debut with the Nationals will materialize in 2027 despite president of baseball operations Paul Toboni expressing optimism last month that a return would materialize as hoped when the trade materialized.
The Nationals dealt third baseman Curtis Mead to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Early, who has yet to suit up for the Nationals. Mead, meanwhile, has appeared in just one game for Boston before suffering a fractured wrist in his debut with the team.
The Nationals, meanwhile, will look to pull off the first five game win streak in roughly 16 months when they close out the two game series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. Cade Cavalli's start is being pushed back to Friday to give the Nationals' ace additional rest, per Butera, with Jared Simpson set to make his fourth MLB appearance and first since the series loss against the San Diego Padres earlier this month.
