Boston Red Sox
“They just picked the wrong guy to do it to and the wrong team to do it to.”
Cam Schlittler mowed down the Red Sox in the Yankees’ Wild Card Series-clinching victory. Now, the Yankees pitcher is looking to do the same to Red Sox fans.
Schlittler, a native of Walpole who pitched at Northeastern, took time to troll Red Sox fans on social media hours after logging eight shutout innings with 12 strikeouts in the Yankees’ Game 3 win on Thursday.
“Drinking dat dirty water,” Schlittler wrote in one social media post.
In another social media post, Schlittler replied, “Not this year,” to a Red Sox fan who predicted Boston would win Thursday’s Game 3.
Of course, Schlittler had plenty of reason to be motivated for Thursday’s elimination game. But he said he had some extra motivation to beat the Red Sox, saying that Game 3 was “personal for me” due to some trash talk.
“I’m not gonna get into it, but there’s a line and I think they crossed it a little bit,” Schlittler told reporters. “I’m a competitor, and I’m gonna go out there and make sure I shut ’em down.
“You know Boston fans, that’s just how it is. We’re aggressive back home and we’re gonna try to get under people’s skin. They just picked the wrong guy to do it to and the wrong team to do it to.”
While Schlittler didn’t say what Red Sox fans did that he felt was over the line, members of the fan base gave him some grief online ahead of Thursday’s game. Some ridiculed Schlittler for saying he’s from Boston, while others cast doubt over his claim that he turned his whole family from Red Sox fans to Yankees fans.
Regardless, Schlittler got the last laugh over the Red Sox on Thursday. He also made history in the process, becoming the first rookie to strike out at least 10 hitters in a playoff game since Livan Hernandez in 1997.
“I woke up, and I was locked in. I knew exactly what I needed to do and go out there, especially against my hometown team,” Schlittler said. “I wasn’t going to let them beat me.”
In another comment to SportsCenter’s Instagram page, Schlittler said that he’s “happy that [the Red Sox’] season is done.”
Schlittler’s trash talk expands to some loved ones, too.
“Just bragging rights over everyone I know back home,” Schlittler said. “I didn’t talk to my friends for two days. I’m definitely going to give them some lip after we get out of here.”
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