Connelly Early’s big day : The first time that many Red Sox fans had even heard of Connelly Early was probably Tuesday afternoon, when news broke that the 23-year-old left-handed pitching prospect was getting his MLB call-up with pitcher Dustin May heading to the injured list.

Though he’s a ranked prospect in Boston’s minor league system, Early had mostly not received the same level of hype as fellow rookie Payton Tolle .

Yet by pitching five scoreless innings and striking out 11 (tying a team record for rookie debuts), Early authored one of the best first career starts in recent Red Sox history.

Boston defeated the Athletics 6-0, with Romy Gonzalez and Rob Refsnyder both homering in the first inning to put the Red Sox out to a commanding lead.

“Obviously, it didn’t look like he

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