BOSTON (AP) — Pitching at Fenway Park for the New York Yankees, Cam Schlittler didn't face the type of abuse he was subjected to online.
Schlittler limited the team he rooted for growing up to four hits over eight innings, and the Yankees rallied twice to beat the Boston Red Sox 4-2 on Thursday night for a three-game sweep and a season-high six-game winning streak.
A Red Sox fan who grew up in Walpole and played college ball at Northeastern, Schlittler
told the New York Post ahead of the game that he and his family had received death threats.
With Cody Charneski, a Yankees producer of digital and social content, joining him in the bullpen for his warmup, Schlittler said his reception from Fenway fans in person wasn't too out of line.
"There was a couple things but, again, Cody is out there with the camera, so I think that’ll limit that,” Schlitter said, "Not too bad. I think you overestimate how many genuine people are out there compared to online. So it’s a good feeling. I had a lot of buddies out there watching.”
Schlitter's family and friends were noticeably excited when he struck out his final batter, Jarren Duran, with his 96th pitch.
Schlittler (3-1) allowed two runs — one earned — over eight innings while striking out five, walking one and lowering his ERA to 1.77.
It was the longest outing in 20 regular-season starts for the 25-year-old right-hander, who pitched eight shutout innings to beat the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium in last year’s AL Wild Card Series.
“He’s got a great demeanor about him. He’s very even keeled and very adaptable, but also competitive and very confident. All great traits,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s always looking forward to his day out there. He’s a very confident guy and I think it’s meaningful for him to come back to where he grew up.”
Schlittler tossed a ball to a fan in the front-row of the right field seats before heading to the bullpen. Another fan in close proximity to the bullpen held up a yellow sign that stated, “Walpole Loves Schlittler.”
“For the most part, really respectful,” Schlittler said.
The public-address announcement of Schlitter as New York’s starting pitcher drew a mixture of cheers and boos. Cody Bellinger, whose two-run single as a pinch-hitter put the Yankees ahead a three-run seventh, was impressed with how Schlitter responded this week.
“I think he handled it great," Bellinger said. "He's such a young kid, and this rivalry, it is —- it's different when you wear these two uniforms and he’s just done a tremendous job pitching and handling everything that comes with it.”
Schlitter struck out 12 against the Red Sox in the postseason game that ended Boston's 2025 season.
“There were plenty of distractions to be had before his playoff start last year, and he obviously handled that really well,” Boone said.
“He was throwing hard that day,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora recalled before the series finale. “From pitch one, we had to be almost perfect. We didn’t put too much pressure on him.”
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
