On Tuesday night at Fenway Park, the Red Sox (82-69) opened a three-game series with the Athletics (71-80) - their second three-game set with Oakland in as many weeks.
Last week in Sacramento, Boston’s bats exploded in both game one and game two of the series, getting the Red Sox a much-needed series win as the team continues to try and lock down its first playoff appearance since 2021.
And in game two of that series, rookie Connelly Early (1-0, 0.87 ERA) made history in his major league debut, tying a Red Sox team record with 11 strikeouts in his first game as a pro.
Early got the ball again against the A’s on Tuesday, and pitched another gem.
But unfortunately for the rookie, his team and manager let him down.
Boston lost 2-1, creating must-win situations for themselves for the remainder of what was supposed to be their easiest remaining series of the season.
Before we get to a weak decision by Cora, we have to once again give Early his flowers.
The kid might be special.
In his first career start at Fenway Park, Early once again looked like an old pro on the mound.
With the ability to throw five different pitches so soon into his major league career (four-seamer, changeup, sinker, sweeper, curveball), Early is looking like the guy that Boston needs at the backend of their starting rotation to help bridge them to potential postseason baseball.
Pitching his way into the sixth, here was Early’s line on the day after 80 pitches of work:
5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 0 HR
But after that 80th pitch, Cora decided to pull the 6-foot-3 lefty (more on that in a moment).
I feel like I need to channel my inner Bart Simpson and write “I will not overreact to Connelly Early” over and over again until I believe. He’s been excellent, but both games have come against an A’s team that’s no great shakes.
I’m cautiously optimistic for who this player can be, both the rest of this season as well as years to come.
It’s just too bad they’re in a position where they have to put so much on the shoulders of a player with so much inexperience at the moment. But that’s the reality of the situation right now.
Now to Cora, as he doesn’t follow through on his promise from Friday
I want you to read this full exchange from the Red Sox manager from Friday’s pregame press conference:
Question: “Down the stretch here, these are all playoff games, to some degree. How do you balance winning every game with managing workloads, pitches, down the stretch of the season?”
Alex Cora: “You gotta be careful. One bad step can put you in a bad spot, you know? And I’m not talking standing wise, I’m talking about health. So just a lot of conversation with trainers, a lot of conversation with the players, and then we go from there. I think we are deeper pitching wise than obviously the last three years. We're in a good spot. We got our starters rolling this weekend, right? [Lucas Giolito], [Brayan] Bello and [Garrett] Crochet. Hopefully they go deep into the game, and then we can mix and match with them.”
Q: “Do you start treating these more like playoff games in September with how you manage guys?”
AC: “I think we've been - we try to win games, you know? That's the way to put it. And the game will dictate what we do. I think so far, the group has done an amazing job putting ourselves in this situation.”
While balancing workload management versus managing to win games, you heard it from the horse’s mouth.
“We try to win games.”
Four days later, when presented with a situation to back these words up, Cora did not live up to his end of the bargain.
At 80 pitches, he opted for Greg Weissert (6-5, 3.06 ERA). And in typical Weissert fashion, he was unable to take care of business after taking the mound with runners on base:
- Against the second batter he faced, Weissert allowed an RBI double to a pinch-hitting Tyler Sonderstrom, tying up the ballgame at 1-1
- After walking the next batter, Brett Harris got Weissert for an RBI single to make it a 2-1 ballgame
Weissert blows the save, giving him an AL-leading ninth in that department.
With Early throwing 90 pitches in his debut 6 days ago, this decision is all the more baffling.
And NESN’s Lenny DiNardo made the key point postgame - Early was still punching the zone. He was showing no signs of slowing down. Sure he was about to face the A’s lineup for a third time, but so what?
If you say you’re going to prioritize winning over workload management, you don’t worry about that analytical crap.
The situation was over-managed, and it cost the Red Sox a crucial win during the stretch run of their regular season.
Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.