Yankees force Alex Cora into embarrassing live ESPN interview after nightmare inning

Yankees fans entered Thursday night more confident than usual, but still filled with anxiety. They were entering a do-or-die matchup against the Red Sox to advance to the next round of the playoffs. The night prior, manager Alex Cora burned his bullpen and had a rookie on the mound for Game 3, so New Yorkers weren't filled with their usual skepticism and pessimism.

That was Cora's first misstep. In Game 2, he removed starter Brayan Bello after just 2 1/3 innings and 28 pitches and immediately went to his bullpen. When the dust settled, Boston lost 4-3, six additional pitchers were used, and his second-best reliever in Garrett Whitlock threw 47 pitches (which all but officially knocked him out of action for Game 3).

And then came Game 3. Connelly Early was on the mound after Lucas Giolito was ruled out for the postseason with an elbow injury. The young left-hander has looked tremendous in his first MLB action, but he's made just four starts and never faced an opponent like the Yankees in a hostile environment.

If anything, Cora needed to treat Early like he did Bello. But instead, the complete opposite happened. Though Early cruised through three innings, he ran into a ton of trouble in the fourth ... and Cora left him in there to perish.

Twenty-eight pitches for an experienced arm like Bello who has a 2.35 ERA in 11 career starts against the Yankees and ... 78 pitches for Early, who already eclipsed his career high in innings? What planet are we on? Did Boone and Cora switch bodies?

The Yankees would score four runs and take what felt like an insurmountable lead, and then, for whatever reason, Cora was immediately forced into an in-game interview with ESPN where he had to answer for what just happened. He wasted no time blaming his defense.

Yankees force Alex Cora into embarrassing live ESPN interview after nightmare inning

He wasn't wrong. A misplay in the outfield and an error by Nathaniel Lowe added to the misfortune. Early was there for the complete unraveling and was charged with three earned runs on six hits and a walk across 3 2/3 innings.

It felt like there were at least two opportunities to remove Early and get an experienced bullpen arm in there to stop the bleeding (or at least limit contact). But Cora might've felt hesitant because of how he burned through his unit on Wednesday and put blind faith in his rookie starter to fight through it.

That was that. Cam Schlittler was the anti-Early, going eight shutout innings and striking out 12. He allowed just five hits and issued no walks. It was an historic showing for a rookie pitcher in the postseason for the Yankees.

And, respectfully, props to Early, who really did pitch well. He was on the receiving end of a few unlucky bounces. Now he knows how the Yankees feel when it comes to playing the Sox the last decade or so.

Welcome to the rivalry.