BOSTON – Cam Schlittler didn’t need anyone to explain Fenway Park to him. He grew up close enough to feel it in his bones, having seen enough games over the years to understand exactly what brand of vitriol he might experience while warming up in the bullpen.
It wasn’t nearly as rough as the Yankees right-hander expected.
Six months after sending the Red Sox home with a stellar performance in Game 3 to seal the American League Wild Card Series, Schlittler pitched off Fenway’s mound for the first time as a professional, firing eight strong innings in a 4-2 victory that completed a sweep on Thursday evening.
“It was good. I don’t think the emotions were too high,” Schlittler said. “It was a fun experience to come here, just growing up around here and being able to go throw. It was a great experience. I’m just glad the boys got the sweep.”
Cody Bellinger’s pinch-hit two-run single tipped the scales in the seventh inning as the Yankees won their sixth consecutive game, finishing off New York’s first series sweep at Fenway since September 2021.
“This rivalry is different when you wear these two uniforms,” Bellinger said. “[Schlittler has] just done a tremendous job pitching and handling everything that comes with it. He’s great to have in the locker room, and he’s been dominant on the mound.”
Having once rooted for the Red Sox in nearby Walpole, Mass., Schlittler embraced his place on the other side of the rivalry, swapping barbs with fans online before and after his Wild Card performance last year.
The Yankees have since advised Schlittler to be more selective with his posts – and on Thursday, his performance did the talking.
“You underestimate how many good people show up to the ballpark,” Schlittler said. “It was great. For the most part, they were really respectful, and it seemed like there were a lot of Yankees fans here.”
With his parents, John and Christine, looking on from the field-level seats, Schlittler limited the Sox to two runs (one earned) on four hits – just the latest impressive performance in a budding career that already has secured Schlittler’s place among the game’s top young pitchers.
“He has that … attitude, like Carlos [Rodón] and Gerrit [Cole], that everybody loves and everybody adores when you’re playing behind him,” said Jazz Chisholm Jr., who hit a fifth-inning homer off Payton Tolle for his first of the season. “I think it’s pretty cool to see him go out there and just do his thing, especially in his home city.”
Carlos Narváez cleared the Green Monster with a fifth-inning solo homer off Schlittler, who struck out five while walking one. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Schlittler settled in after the first few innings, and that he “seemed very mellow” in their interactions throughout the day.
“He’s just getting really, really good out there,” Boone said. “That’s an ace-like performance.”
Schlittler had a harsher review, saying that the start was “a grind” and that his two-seamer and cutter weren’t sharp. He said his favorite moment came in the eighth inning, when he was still on the field for the sing-along to Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.”
“Feeling the environment of the game and the fans interacting, that was probably the coolest part of what I felt out there,” Schlittler said.
Before Thursday, Schlittler’s only other experience on Fenway’s mound came in a high school prospect showcase – an outing that drew the attention of Matt Hyde, the Yankees scout who’d eventually recommend the club to sign him out of Northeastern University.
“I think he’s got a lot of toughness to him,” Hyde said on Thursday. “Think about a seventh-round pick that’s not a highly-touted guy necessarily coming out of the [2022] Draft, and he’s always had to prove himself.
“He had to earn things, and I think that part of his makeup started at a young age and shows itself in the big leagues. Those guys that don’t think that they’ve arrived yet, they seem to have an extra edge to them. It’s a difference-maker.”
Aaron Judge added a run-scoring single in the seventh behind Schlittler, who credits a “blue-collar, gritty mentality” for fueling his journey from Walpole to The Show. That’s certainly true between the lines, but away from the field, teammates have experienced a much different persona.
“He’s such a nice kid. It’s two different people,” Chisholm said. “You want that out of a starting pitcher, that can just flip the switch and go out there and just be a ‘dawg.’ We love that.”