IPL 2026: 'I was putting too much pressure on myself'- Finn Allen opens up on mental reset
Finn Allen's explosive century helps KKR defeat Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026!
The Boston Red Sox defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0, improving to 9-0 in their Green Monster jerseys, thanks to rookie starter Connelly Early's standout performance. Early, who had struggled previously, showcased his potential in this game.
Boston Red Sox Rookie Starter Dominates in Win Over Rays
BOSTON-- There's magic in the Fenway Greens as the Boston Red Sox improved to 9-0 when wearing their Green Monster-inspired city connect jerseys with a 2-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, propelled by a career night from rookie starter Connelly Early.
It was an exciting start to the night at Fenway as the Red Sox celebrated the 125th anniversary of the first Boston home game, with all six living alumni whose numbers were retired throwing out a ceremonial first pitch.
Early has struggled in his first seven starts of the season. After not allowing a home run in his first seven major league starts, he had allowed five in his last four appearances, causing both his ERA and FIP to balloon to 3.79 and 4.90, respectively. After posting a 1.9 walks per nine innings in 2025, control problems began plaguing Early in 2026, walking 4.3 batters per nine innings.
Early ran into trouble in the third inning, allowing the first two batters of the inning to reach via single, before hitting Ray's leadoff man, Yandy Diaz, to load the bases for the heart of the Tampa order. After striking out right fielder Ryan Villade, all 35,052 in attendance held their breath as star third baseman Junior Caminero dug into the box. Caminero pounded a first-pitch change-up into the ground, a tailor-made double-play ball for his counterpart, Caleb Durbin, who started the turn and got Early out of the lone Rays threat of the evening. "From that moment, we had all the momentum," Early told reporters, "huge spot in the game, to get out of that with no runs allowed is huge," he continued.
Connelly Early had a career night, leading the Red Sox to a 2-0 victory over the Rays.
The Red Sox are now 9-0 when wearing their Green Monster-inspired city connect jerseys.
Early struggled with control issues, walking 4.3 batters per nine innings after a promising start to the season.
Finn Allen's explosive century helps KKR defeat Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026!
Megan Grant ties NCAA home run record as UCLA advances to Big Ten title game.
Freeman and Ohtani lead Dodgers to 3-1 win over Braves
Tension flares as Finch labels ref Brothers 'unprofessional' in Game 3
Victor Wembanyama channels Hakeem Olajuwon's teachings in Spurs' Game 3 victory!
The Virginia Tech Hokies softball team defeated Duke 5-0 to advance to the ACC Championship. Bree Carrico and Emma Mazzarone led the pitching effort, while the team hit four home runs.
See every story in Sports — including breaking news and analysis.
The Boston offense capitalized on that momentum as Wilyer Abreu launched one into the Boston bullpen to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead, which they would not relinquish.
It was smooth sailing from there for Early, who would go on to have the best start of his career, pitching a career-high seven innings, with eight strikeouts in the second shutout appearance of his major league career, walking only one batter.
"He was incredible," interim manager Chad Tracy said after the game, "controlling counts...he had plenty in the tank left...just a really, really good outing," he continued.
The Red Sox will look to carry that momentum into the third game of the four-game set against the Rays, which is slated for Saturday afternoon. Fellow rookie lefty Payton Tolle will look to build off the best start of his career on Monday in Detroit. He'll get the start for Boston, opposite Nick Martinez for Tampa. First pitch from Fenway Park set for 4:10 p.m. ET.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
Remember to join our RED SOX on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Red Sox fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!