BOSTON — When Cam Schlittler took the mound at Fenway Park wearing a New York Yankees uniform, the hometown crowd’s reaction was far more civil than the online harassment he’s endured.
The 25-year-old right-hander delivered a masterful performance against his childhood team, holding the Boston Red Sox to just four hits across eight innings as New York completed a three-game sweep with a 4-2 victory Thursday night, extending their winning streak to six games.
Growing up in Walpole as a Red Sox supporter and later playing college baseball at Northeastern, Schlittler recently revealed to the New York Post that he and his family have been receiving death threats online.
During his pre-game warmup in the bullpen, Yankees digital content producer Cody Charneski accompanied Schlittler with a camera. The pitcher noted that the presence of cameras seemed to keep fan behavior more respectful.
“There was a couple things but, again, Cody is out there with the camera, so I think that’ll limit that,” Schlittler explained. “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.”
Family members and friends could be seen celebrating enthusiastically when Schlittler struck out Jarren Duran on his 96th and final pitch of the night.
The performance improved Schlittler’s record to 3-1 while surrendering just two runs (one earned) with five strikeouts, one walk, and dropping his ERA to 1.77. The eight-inning effort marked his longest appearance in 20 regular-season starts.
This outing matched his previous dominance over Boston, when he threw eight scoreless innings to eliminate the Red Sox in last year’s American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone praised his young pitcher’s mental approach. “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,” 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.”
Before warming up, Schlittler tossed a baseball to a fan sitting in the front row near right field. During the game, another supporter displayed a yellow sign reading “Walpole Loves Schlittler.”
“For the most part, really respectful,” Schlittler said of the fan treatment.
When the public address announcer introduced Schlittler as New York’s starting pitcher, the crowd responded with a mix of applause and jeers. Cody Bellinger, whose pinch-hit two-run single sparked a three-run seventh inning rally, commended how his teammate has handled the intense scrutiny.
“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.”
In that playoff elimination game, Schlittler recorded 12 strikeouts to end 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 reflected.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora remembered that postseason performance vividly. “He was throwing hard that day,” Cora said before Thursday’s series finale. “From pitch one, we had to be almost perfect. We didn’t put too much pressure on him.”
