RED SOX POSTCAST: Great Connelly Early 1st Impression; 11 Ks in MLB Debut

The Red Sox (81-65) won their 3rd in a row with a 6-0 victory over the Athletics Tuesday night at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, California.  With Tuesday night's victory, the Red Sox clinched the series win (3-2 on Trip) with 1 more to go and move to 16 games above .500 for the 2nd time this season. It's the Sox 81st win of the season which matches last year's season total.   

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Early Gets the Call: Connelly Early impressed in notching the win in his Major League debut. He worked 5 scoreless innings and tied a franchise record with 11 strikeouts in his debut (Don Aase fanned 11 vs. the Brewers at Fenway on July 26, 1977). He allowed 5 Hits (all Singles) and walked only 1. The 23-year-old retired the first 8 hitters he faced before giving up back-to-back 2-out Singles in the 3rd inning. In the 4th, he worked out of a bases loaded and 1 out jam by getting 2 straight strikeouts to end the threat. Early got 19 swings and misses in his start.  

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Love Those Shutouts: It's the Red Sox 11th shutout of the season and the 2nd time this season where the Red Sox tossed back-to-back shutouts. They did it at home against the Yankees on June 15 and at Seattle against the Mariners on June 16. 

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Sox at the Dish: Romy Gonzalez got things going with a Home Run to lead off the game against Jeffrey Springs. After Singles from Alex Bregman and Trevor Story, Rob Refsnyder hit a 3-run Home Run, his 8th of the season. to make it 4-0.. Gonzalez made it 5-0 with an RBI Double in the 2nd. He's now hit safely in 12 straight games, but he also exited in the bottom of the 2nd with left knee soreness.     

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Another MLB Debut: Connelly Early became the 7th Red Sox prospect to make his MLB in 2025 with his start against the Athletics Tuesday night. Early joins Kristian Campbell, Hunter Dobbins, Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, Jhostynxon Garcia, & Payton Tolle to debut this season.  Early is touted as the 6th-best prospect in the Red Sox organization, according to MLB Pipeline. He was drafted in the 5th round out of the University of Virginia in 2023 by the Red Sox. He also spent 2 years at Army West Point.

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#'s of the Day:     

--The Sox are now an AL-Best 39-21 since July 1.

--Early is the 13th different starting pitcher this season for the Red Sox. 

--It's the 8th time this season where a Red Sox hitter led off the game and the 2nd time that Gonzalez has done it. Jarren Duran (4), Roman Gonzalez (2), Roman 

   Anthony (2).

--The Red Sox are 30-2 in their last 32 games where they score 5 or more runs. 

--The Sox have hit 4 Home Runs over the first 2 games of the series and are now 39-9 when hitting 2 or more Home Runs in a game this season.

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What's On Tap?: The Red Sox and Athletics conclude their series Wednesday afternoon at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento. Payton Tolle will go on 4 days rest for the fi