Cam Schlittler, a fireballing 24-year-old righty who grew up rooting for the Red Sox, officially entered the Yankees’ universe on July 9, when he made the first of his 14 starts down the stretch.
Connelly Early, the No. 6 prospect for the Red Sox per MLB Pipeline, wasn’t in the plans to be in the club’s starting rotation in September, let alone October.
Fittingly, as this AL Wild Card Series between the forever rivals gets ready to go the distance with Game 3 on Thursday night, it will pit a pitching matchup nobody could have predicted even a month ago. But that’s Red Sox-Yankees, when another great subplot always seems to be right around the corner.
“Obviously it is going to be loud here. Two rookies, Game 3, Wild Card, Yankees-Red Sox. Imagine that?” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “It should be a fun night.”
Not to mention an unprecedented one.
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www.mlb.com]
