The Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees will play a deciding Game 3 in their American Wild Card showdown on Thursday night at Yankee Stadium. Both teams will send a rookie to the mound to start the winner-takes-it-all affair.

Shortly after the Red Sox lost, 4-3 , in Wednesday night's Game 2, Boston manager Alex Cora officially named rookie left-hander Connelly Early as his Game 3 starter. The 23-year-old started his season in Double-A and didn't make his Major League debut until Sept. 9, when he got the win and tied a Major League record by striking out 11 Athletics . In his four starts for Boston, Early went 1-2 with a 2.33 ERA and 1.086 WHIP. He had good command of the strike zone with 29 strikeouts to just four walks.

Now his fifth career start will come in an elimination

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