Cora and Boone’s Strategic Duel: The Unexpected Battle That Could Keep Scores Surprisingly Low

The Red Sox took the series opener behind Garret Crochet, and to be honest, I would actually consider seeing if he could pitch again on extremely short rest. I suppose it wouldn’t be worth it for his future, or even the next series if they won, but there are very few options for this Red Sox rotation. As it is, the team is likely to use this as a bullpen game. Their starting pitcher is Connelly Early, but I would expect that the team ends up trying to play as many matchups as they can. If they can get three innings out of Early, that alone will likely be a win for Boston. Early was called up in September, and this is a big ask for a rookie. Overall, he has pitched a total of 19.1 innings, allowed 17 hits, but struck out 29 hitters and only allowed five earned runs. Simply put, he can’t put that much traffic on the bases and expect to win today. One benefit he has is that the Yankees have never faced him, so he could hold them down for a few innings. The first time through a lineup, he has allowed just a .176 batting average, compared to hitters batting .281 against him the second time through. I like the Boston bullpen, but this is a game where they can have no errors. The bullpen is a bit taxed as well, having thrown 5.1 innings yesterday.