The Boston Red Sox are working their way through an injury to Dustin May. Boston is calling up Connelly Early to replace May in the rotation, per Foul Territory. Early is expected to start Tuesday night against the Athletics.
May is expected to head to the injured list. He is struggling this year, spending time in the starting rotation as well as the bullpen. This year, May has posted a 4.96 ERA while pitching for Boston and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
May was acquired by the Red Sox at the July trade deadline. He has appeared in 25 games this year, with 23 overall starts. He is dealing with an undisclosed injury, per CBS Sports.
Early is considered one of Boston's top pitching prospects in the farm system. He has posted 10 victories this season in the minor leagues. Early has yet to appear in a Major League Baseball game.
Red Sox hope to win the AL East
Boston is currently third in the American League East, but they are only three games out of first. Boston is chasing the division crown along with the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees.
The Red Sox struggled out of the gate this season. Boston was under .500 for a considerable period of time in the season's first months. Strong pitching from the bullpen has lifted the team. Boston has also found some strength in the batting lineup, following the Rafael Devers trade.
The club would love to have Early find the strike zone early on Tuesday. Boston is hoping to hop past New York again in the division standings. The teams have traded places for weeks.
A quality start for Early on Tuesday would continue some strong momentum. Garrett Crochet put together a gem of a game for Boston on Monday. He struck out 10 batters as Boston won, 7-0.
“Every win counts here down the stretch, so for me it’s just trying to help the team put our best foot forward every game,” Crochet said, per MLB.com. “I think I’ve got three or four left. I’m losing track at this point. Every start ‘til the finish line and the ones that are following that, just really doing the best thing I can to help the team.”
The Red Sox play the Athletics Tuesday at 10:05 PM ET. Boston has five wins in their last 10 games.
