Potential loss of Connelly Early halts run for Red Sox starting staff that was rounding into form
A pitchers’ duel was shaping up Tuesday night at Fenway Park. And then, it wasn’t.
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Just moments before the bench-clearing brawl that ended with Willson Contreras, Chad Tracy, Nate Eaton, and Nationals pitcher Miles Mikolas ejected from the game, relief pitcher Danny Coulombe began to warm up. Why?
With five strikeouts and no runs allowed in 61 pitches, lefthander Connelly Early was rolling, but his night ended, well, early. The Red Sox said he exited the game with elbow discomfort in his throwing arm.
“It’s tough,” Early said. “Start was going really well and I felt really good going into the game. So, just a little unfortunate thing that happened there.”
Early said the injury occurred on the release of his final pitch, a cutter that still managed to induce a double-play grounder from Nationals outfielder Jacob Young to end the fourth. Early let the team know, and they decided to roll with Coulombe for the next inning.
Boston was forced into a bullpen game, while Cade Cavalli kept rolling on the other end, ultimately registering 13 strikeouts across seven innings. Five Sox relievers allowed nine hits and eight runs following Early’s exit in what became an 8-1 loss.
Interim manager Tracy said Early will undergo further imaging on Wednesday.
“Obviously very hopeful that the images give us good results, but . . . still, something happened,” Tracy said.
While the severity has yet to be determined, it’s the latest blow to a team with five starting pitchers on its injured list.
As mentioned by Tracy pregame, Patrick Sandoval is expected to pitch for Double-A Portland on Saturday, with an aim of getting him to 70-75 pitches as he continues his rehab from Tommy John surgery.
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It was to be the final appearance for Sandoval in his 30-day rehab window, with the team having discussed him possibility extending his assignment at least in part because there was no role for him currently in Boston. That may have changed on Tuesday given Early’s status.
The struggles of Brayan Bello, who’s pitched in 13 innings since being demoted to Triple-A Worcester earlier in June, along with the frustration of Garrett Crochet on his ongoing rehab, shouldn’t make the organization feel any better.
But whether or not a pitcher is available to step up at this point is only a fraction of the problem. Even with his shortened outing, Early overtook Ranger Suarez with a team-leading 93 strikeouts.
Furthermore, he struck out a combined 16 batters and allowed three runs across his previous two appearances. On the season, he carries a 3.44 ERA in 91⅔ innings. An extended absence for Early is not what the team needs as it tries to get back on a roll.
How does Early feel?
“I’m personally not too concerned as of right now, but you know, we’ll see tomorrow with imaging,” Early said. “Just kind of trying to figure out based on imaging what to do from there.”
Tracy said Early was in “decent spirits,” but the lefty was clearly a bit short and somber throughout his postgame presser. Sure, he’s not expected to be joyous after a loss along with an injury, but when asked if he’d felt something similar to the injury, he said no.
As pitchers continue to throw as hard as ever, there’s always a cause for concern for ligament injuries specifically, given the stress pitching puts on the elbow. It certainly can’t be ruled out as a possibility, especially given the suddenness of the injury.
Regardless, real answers likely won’t begin to emerge until Wednesday, when the Sox close their series with Washington at 1:35 p.m.
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