Yankees’ Rookie Pitcher Looks to Eliminate Childhood Team

The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox prepare for a decisive Game 3 in the American League Wild Card Series on Thursday night at Yankee Stadium.

Taking the mound for the Red Sox will be lefty Connelly Early, who has just 19.1 innings thrown at the Major League level. The 23-year-old began the season at Double-A Portland and impressed evaluators in the organization enough to warrant two promotions. Early replaces Lucas Giolito, who suffered an elbow injury before the postseason.

The tall and slender Cam Schlittler will make the first postseason start of his young career in Game 3 for the Yankees. The 24-year-old made 14 starts during the regular season and posted an ERA+ of 138 with 84 strikeouts in 73 innings.

Cam Schlittler Says His Family Are Now Yankees Fans

The Yankees selected Schlittler in the seventh round of the 2022 MLB Draft, and he flew under the radar for quite some time. The main reason for his promotion to the Major Leagues was due to Clarke Schmidt’s sudden need to have Tommy John surgery in June.

Schlittler grew up in Walpole, Mass., and attended Northeastern University in Boston. Naturally, he and his family rooted for the Red Sox.

“I would say growing up in Boston, I take pride in being from Boston,” Schlittler told reporters before the Yankees defeated the Red Sox 4-3 on Wednesday night, including Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post. “When it came to my career and where I want to be, this is where I want to be. [My family is] full Yankee guys now.

“They don’t wear it around as much in Boston just because. When they are here, they are very prideful about it.”

Schlittler’s father, John, is the Chief of Police in the town of Needham, Mass. The Needham Police Department posted this message to Facebook on Thursday morning: “So now we’re stuck between ‘Go Sox!’ and ‘Go… wait, did we just say (I can’t) out loud?’ Please don’t revoke our Massachusetts residency, and please don’t tell Wally. We’ll be cheering for strikeouts, home runs, and somehow, a Sox win and a perfect game at the same time.”

Can Cam Schlittler Extend the Yankees’ Season?

The Yankees’ World Series hopes rest on the shoulders of Schlittler, who did not face the Red Sox during the regular season. He averaged 98 mph on his fastball and also throws a cutter, curveball, sinker, and sweeper.

New York hopes the right-hander can give them some length. He reached the sixth inning in seven of his 14 starts and had scoreless outings of six innings or more against the Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals, and Baltimore Orioles.

Will the moment be too big for Schlittler? His teammate, Carlos Rodón, doesn’t think so.

“He carries himself well,” Carlos Rodón told Brendan Kuty of The Athletic. “Good demeanor. Pretty relaxed. Off the mound, really relaxed. Chill guy. Not surprising to have that kind of demeanor. There’s fire in there when he’s competing. Don’t let him lie to you that he wasn’t nervous for that first start (of his career). But that’s kind of the demeanor you want as a starting pitcher.”

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