NEW YORK — Red Sox rookie Richard Fitts arrived at Yankee Stadium on Friday knowing he was likely to pitch out of the bullpen with Tanner Houck likely limited due to shoulder fatigue and the bullpen on fumes after a couple of close games in recent days. It wasn’t until he was out on the field during batting practice that he was told he would start.
Boston scratched Houck, who arrived in the Bronx with more shoulder weakness than he experienced playing catch Thursday, just 55 minutes before first pitch and inserted Fitts, who made his major league debut Sunday at Fenway against the White Sox. There were early jitters — Fitts issued three two-out walks in the first inning before escaping — but overall, the righty pitched very well, allowing just two hits in five shutout innings.
“It was a pretty unreal night,” said Fitts after the bullpen blew a 4-0 lead in what turned into a 5-4 loss. “I was excited to be here. It was a quick turnaround to find out when I was starting but I welcomed the challenge. I expected to pitch today. Just getting the start, it’s pretty cool to have that here in Yankee Stadium.”
Fitts, a sixth-round pick of the Yankees in 2021, had long envisioned getting the chance to pitch at Yankee Stadium, a place he had never visited before Friday. Of course, those dreams included him pitching for the home team, with whom he spent the first three years of his pro career. The detour came in December when he was one of three pitchers shipped to the Red Sox for Alex Verdugo, who hit ninth for New York on Friday. But the moment was just as special.
“It’s cool,” Fitts said. “It’s not what I imagined, having a different uniform on, but I’m super blessed and super thankful to have the opportunity to wear a Red Sox uniform right now and hopefully for a long time to come.”
“Like I told him, probably the last few years, he dreamed of pitching here at Yankee Stadium,” added manager Alex Cora. “Well he did. But it was for us.”
Fitts looked like he was heading for a short outing in the bottom of the first when he issued free passes to Aaron Judge, Austin Wells and Giancarlo Stanton to load the bases for Jazz Chisholm Jr. Then, a 101.3 mph, 359-foot flyout allowed Fitts to escape.
“That’s something I don’t want to do a lot, walk three guys in an inning,” Fitts said. “Or walk three guys in general. I just had to take a step back, pitching to a tough lineup. Pitching to my strengths and do what I can to get outs.”
He settled in from there, allowing just two baserunners over the next four frames while tallying 90 pitches as the Sox built a lead. Considering he wasn’t penciled in as the starter until right before game time, it was an impressive start.
“He knew there was a chance he was going to be a big part of the game tonight, and was he,” Cora said. “The kid walks three guys in the first inning and then after that, he went five. Good stuff. He was able to slow down the game and it was fun to watch him pitch tonight.”
Fitts, who is widely ranked as one of the top rotation prospects in the organization, has yet to allow an earned run in 10⅔ big league innings. He’ll likely have the chance to continue his audition for the big leagues in the final two weeks of the season.
“There’s stuff, development-wise, that he will be better,” Cora said. “The changeup/split is going to be better. The fastball is good. There was an at-bat against Judge where he fell behind 3-1 and wasn’t afraid to throw the four-seamer.”
