WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Late night, Early show.

Boston Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early struck out 11 in five shutout innings to match a franchise record during his major league debut Tuesday night against the Athletics.

“Pretty sick performance,” teammate Romy Gonzalez said. “It was fun to watch.”

The only other Red Sox starter to rack up 11 strikeouts in his first career game was Don Aase versus Milwaukee on July 26, 1977.

“It was amazing, just to go out there and have that first opportunity,” Early said after getting the win in a 6-0 victory. “A long day of travel yesterday and just getting to the field, seeing all the guys, seeing guys that you don’t even imagine being next to most of the time. So it was amazing and just a bunch of joy.”

Early was called up from Triple-A Worc

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