Alex Cora wasn't the slightest bit patient with Brayan Bello in Wild Card Game 2 between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. Ben Rice got to the righty for a first-inning two-run homer, and he only lasted one more full frame.
Bello got through the second inning in three batters, but after Ryan McMahon and Aaron Judge singled off him in the third, Cora had enough. He pulled his usual Yankee-killing hurler early in a tied game.
In comparison, he left Connelly Early out to dry. The 22-year-old top prospect had made just four big league starts before his postseason debut, but he got a longer leash than Bello.
Early cruised through the first three innings against the Yankees lineup on October 2. Giancarlo Stanton got to him for a double and Trent Grisham singled against him in the third frame. Cody Bellinger opened the fourth inning with a double that could've been a flyout had Ceddanne Rafaela taken a better route to the ball. Then, Early walked Stanton. Fans expected to see Cora surface to pull his young starter, but he let him continue.
Alex Cora switches up his strategy from Game 2, leaves Red Sox rookie Connelly Early out to dry in Game 3 against Yankees
One out on the board and three straight singles later, New York had a 2-0 lead. Then, Austin Wells knocked the ball to Nathaniel Lowe at first base, but it clanged off his glove, then off Romy Gonzalez's, and into the grass. The Yankees' lead reached 4-0 with Early still on the mound.
After he induced a flyout of Grisham, Alex Cora pulled his pitcher. Boston's defense definitely didn't help Early, but Cora gave him a lot of leeway in a winner-take-all game. When the fourth inning mercifully ended, ESPN's Buster Olney approached Cora for an interview.
“We didn’t play defense behind him,” the skipper said.
Before the do-or-die game, Cora mentioned that Bello would be available out of the bullpen. But since he didn't summon him when Early struggled, his aggression with the bullpen in Game 2 almost didn't seem worth it.
Early deserves credit for his performance in his postseason debut. The young righty allowed three runs on six hits with six strikeouts and a walk over 3.2 innings in his fifth-ever big league start. Had the Red Sox played better defense (an excuse fans have made all season long), Early would've fared even better.