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New York Yankees’ Cam Schlittler pitches during the third inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Friday, April 17, 2026, in New York.<\/p>\n
Frank Franklin II\/AP<\/p>\n
New York Yankees pitcher Tim Hill warms up before the start of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Boston.<\/p>\n
CJ Gunther\/AP<\/p>\n
BOSTON (AP) \u2014 New York Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler wants to see the rivalry with the Red Sox return to its more passionate heyday.<\/p>\n
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Schlittler, who grew up in the Boston area as a Red Sox fan and went to college in the city at Northeastern, said before the teams met for the first time this season that the rivalry is \u201cheading in the right direction\u201d after they met in the playoffs again last year.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s intense. The atmosphere\u2019s great,\u201d Schlittler said before Tuesday\u2019s game. \u201cWhen you\u2019re playing a division rival, you\u2019re going to perform at the best level. And if for some guys that rivalry feeds them a little bit, like I think it does for me, then great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schlittler told the New York Post this week that he and his family have received death threats leading up to his scheduled start for the Yankees at Fenway Park on Thursday night. But he said on Tuesday that he was \u201cnot overly concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust looking forward to Thursday,\u201d he told reporters in the visitor\u2019s clubhouse. \u201cI\u2019ve got a job to do. I don\u2019t want to create a distraction for the team. So I\u2019m just going to go out there and do what I need to do on the mound.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Yankees said they had made no special security arrangements because of the threats. When Schlittler came out of the dugout during batting practice, the only shouts were from children wanting his autograph.<\/p>\n
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A Red Sox spokesperson said the team doesn\u2019t comment on specific security protocols.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe safety of all players, staff, and fans is always our top priority,\u201d the team said. \u201cWe have well-established procedures and significant resources in place for every game to ensure a safe environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Walpole, Massachusetts, native who was called up by the Yankees last July, Schlittler did not pitch against the Red Sox in the regular season. After his family was targeted with social media comments during the AL wild-card series, he responded with a victory in the Game 3 clincher at Yankee Stadium, striking out 12 in eight scoreless innings.<\/p>\n
This season, he is 2-1 with a 1.95 ERA heading into Thursday\u2019s start.<\/p>\n
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Schlittler said on Tuesday that he wasn\u2019t sure how people back home would treat him now that he pitched for their archrival. But being back in the area over the offseason for a few months, he encountered no problems.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were great. People were very respectful,\u201d he said. \u201cIt gives you some good feelings that it\u2019s really just the people online that aren\u2019t respectful. Typical Boston fans that are everyday guys, they\u2019re not they\u2019re going to give you too much to worry about in person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schlittler said the last time he pitched off the mound at Fenway was his senior year in high school.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up Red Sox fan, it was definitely really cool,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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Yankees manager Aaron Boone, whose homer in the deciding game of the 2003 AL Championship Series marked a high point in the rivalry \u2014 at least from New York\u2019s perspective \u2014 said he wasn\u2019t worried about how Schlittler would respond if he gets an unwelcome greeting from the Boston fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe handles it quite well,\u201d Boone said.<\/p>\n
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