Is Boston Red Sox Lefty Beginning to Hit 'Rookie Wall?'

· Yahoo Sports

In a ballpark full of Scotsmen, the Boston Red Sox were unable to complete the sweep of the Texas Rangers as they fell 6-4 on Sunday night. Rookie left-hander Connelly Early got the start for Boston and was once again hurt by the home run ball. 

Texas left fielder Wyatt Langford gave Early a rude welcome to his 14th start of the season, launching a center-cut first pitch fastball 106.8 mph over the Green Monster and giving Texas a 1-0 lead. Early allowed a single to Rangers' No. 2 hitter Josh Jung, before retiring the next three in order to keep the Red Sox' deficit at one. 

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Early ran into trouble again, allowing a pair of singles to second baseman Justin Foscue and left fielder Cody Freeman in the second inning. With two on and nobody out, Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka lifted a 1-0 change-up just into the glove of a young Scot in the first row of the monster for a three-run home run, extending the Texas lead to 4-0. 

All in all, Sunday night was inarguably the worst of Early's young career, with him allowing six earned runs on 11 hits, both career highs. He struck out out a season-low three and also walked two over 4.2 innings. Part of Early's issues on Sunday was his inability to generate swing-and-miss, as he recorded a season-low five whiffs. 

"The home run obviously," interim manager Chad Tracy said of Early's outing after the loss. "Little bit of a struggle today," he continued.

Rookie wall?

Early has begun to show some signs of hitting the rookie wall in recent starts. As noted by MLB.com's Ian Browne, after posting a 2.95 ERA in his first 61 innings in 2026, the 24-year-old has allowed 12 earned runs in his last 14.1 innings, good for a 7.36 ERA, while walking seven. 

Early's regression is simply water finding its level, as he had been outperforming his expected statistics nearly across the board. Early entered Sunday night's start with an expected ERA of 4.56 and a fielding independent pitching of 4.75, while posting a 3.30 ERA, showing he has benefited greatly from good luck.

The regression from Early can be directly linked to two things: too many home runs and walks. After not allowing a single home run in his first seven major league starts, Early has allowed 14 in his last 11. With the two Texas homers on Sunday night, the 24-year-old has now allowed more than one home run in four of his last six starts. Since April 15, Early's home runs per nine of 2.0 is the fourth-highest in baseball.

Similarly, the walks have begun piling up for Early; his 3.50 walks per nine innings rank 15th highest in baseball. 

"My preparation has been pretty good, just trying to keep that dialed in and hopefully things will turn," Early told reporters on Sunday night. "Full season is going to be ups-and-downs, so just how I can respond to that is the biggest thing," he continued.

Early and pitching coach Andrew Bailey will have six days to get back to the drawing board before his next start on Saturday night in one of the most pitcher-friendly ballparks in baseball, Seattle's T-Mobile Park.

The Red Sox will have Monday off before wrapping up their six-game homestand with a three-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays. Payton Tolle (3-3, 2.70 ERA) will get the start for the Red Sox, while Toronto has yet to name its starter. First pitch from Fenway set for 6:45 p.m. ET. on Tuesday night. 

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