When Connelly Early takes the ball for game three of the Wild Card series, he’ll become the first pitcher to ever start a winner-take-all game within 30 days of his major league debut.

He’ll also have to do so in front of a rabid Yankee Stadium crowd. The New York Yankees haven’t beaten the Boston Red Sox in a playoff series since 2003, and their fans know it. With a rookie pitcher on the mound, they’ll do everything they can to rattle him.

Any time the Red Sox and Yankees meet, the stakes are high. In a do-or-die playoff game, the anxiety and pressure are heightened. Fans live and die with every pitch, and every run feels monumental. When Early steps on the field on Thursday, he’ll have Red Sox fans’ hopes on his shoulders.

He’s not the only Red Sox rookie to step in front of a horde o

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