A pair of rising pitching stars will square off in the rubber game of the season-opening series as the Cincinnati Reds host the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.
The two teams played a thrilling game on Saturday, with plenty of controversy and clutch pitching. The Reds prevailed 6-5 in 11 innings after Boston won the series opener by a 3-0 margin on Thursday.
The Saturday game featured home runs from Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart and Elly De La Cruz and a solo shot with two outs in the ninth by Boston’s Wilyer Abreu that forced extra innings. Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story also went deep.
The game also proved to be a rough one for veteran home plate umpire C.B. Bucknor, who had eight calls challenged by the new ABS and six overturned. The Reds won all five of their challenges. Bucknor also ejected Boston manager Alex Cora for arguing a check-swing strike three on with Story at the plate in the seventh inning without asking for an appeal to first base.
As the two teams move onto Sunday, the focus will be on the starting pitchers, featuring a matchup between Cincinnati right-hander Rhett Lowder and Boston lefty Connelly Early.
Both pitchers enter this finale looking to build on impressive, albeit brief, major league foundations established in late 2024 and 2025.
Lowder enters the 2026 campaign after a stellar 2024 debut where he posted a 2-2 record with a 1.17 ERA across six starts. After navigating oblique, forearm and shoulder injuries in 2025, he returns healthy for 2026.
“No matter what happens, I want to be the best version of myself,” Lowder, 24, said. “I feel good physically, mentally. This game is a mental game no matter what, so you’ve got to be strong”.
Lowder was moved up to third in the rotation after Hunter Greene underwent arthroscopic elbow surgery and Nick Lodolo came up with a left index-finger blister and landed on the injured list to open the season.
This will be his first appearance against the Red Sox.
Early won the final spot in Boston’s rotation this spring after a 2025 debut in which he struck out 11 batters in his first career start. He finished 1-2 with a 2.33 ERA in four starts in 2025. Early, who put on weight and gained strength in the offseason, maintained that momentum with a 1.59 ERA in five Grapefruit League appearances this spring.
“I challenged him right after the season. He’s got to become a monster. He’s got to be big and strong. He did an outstanding job in the offseason, checking all the boxes,” Cora said. “We saw this last year; the only thing now is that he’s stronger. It was a good offseason for him and now he’s performing at this level.”
Cora is confident in Early, who turns 24 next week. Early will be making his first appearance against a National League club.
“It felt like Early earned that spot,” Cora added. “It’s the same thing that gave me confidence to pitch him in Game 3 of the wild-card series (against the New York Yankees in 2025). Stuff-wise, he’s really good.”
–Field Level Media
