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As expected, the series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees will go down to the wire. And to determine a winner, let's just say it won't be veterans on the mound.
It will be up to rookies Connelly Early and Cam Schlittler to make the difference for their team tonight (Thursday).
When the Red Stockings and Bombardiers played their most famous duel in 2004, when Boston erased a three-game deficit in the series, Early was one year old and Schlittler was two.
According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, the first rookie pitching duo to face off in this scenario, an ultimate matchup, was Atlanta Braves gunner Ian Anderson and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Dustin May in Game 7 of the 2020 National League Championship Series. Neither pitcher was involved in the decision at the time, but Los Angeles went on to win the game by a score of 4-3 and run away with the World Series.
The Red Sox – Yankees ALWCS Game 3 will be the second winner-take-all game in postseason history between 2 rookie starting pitchers with Connelly Early and Cam Schlittler, joining:
2020 NLCS g7: Dustin May, Ian Anderson
– Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 2, 2025
It's the second time in history that we'll see a rookie duel in a game where a loss will send the losing team home.
Schlittler, who has posted an excellent 2.96 earned-run average in 73 innings of work this season, might have been expected to take the mound, but Early was a different story. The latter only made his Major League baseball debut on September 9.
Will his manager's call-up be too Early? We'll find out tonight at 8:08pm.
The winner of this final game will advance to the Division Series and face the Toronto Blue Jays. The first duel is scheduled for Saturday.
This content was created with the help of AI.
