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(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

The New York Yankees are in Boston this week for one of the most storied rivalries in American sports. Tuesday night belonged to Luis Gil and Giancarlo Stanton in a 4-0 shutout win. Looking ahead, Thursday night belongs to someone else entirely.

Cam Schlittler is set to make his first career start at Fenway Park. For most Yankees pitchers, that is simply another road start in a hostile environment. For Schlittler, it is something considerably more complicated than that.

He grew up forty minutes down the road. He knows exactly what Thursday night means.

Schlittler Opens Up on Fenway Moment

Speaking on the broadcast during Game 1 of the game series, Schlittler did not hide what this week means to him personally.

“Yeah it’s special you know, obviously you grow up…you know as a Sox fan you wanna pitch at Fenway…you don’t know you’re gonna be on the opposing side but either way it’s a cool feeling and I’m very excited.”

That is the honest reaction of someone who spent his childhood dreaming of standing on that mound. Schlittler grew up in Walpole, Massachusetts, a forty-minute drive from Fenway Park, rooting for the Red Sox and pitching at Northeastern University.

The Yankees selected him in the seventh round of the 2022 draft. The opposing uniform was never part of the plan.

But he is a Yankee now, and he has embraced it. Thursday is his night.

The Other Side of the Homecoming

Red Sox fans have made sure Schlittler knows exactly how they feel about him.

The social media attacks have not stopped since his playoff dominance last October. Schlittler revealed the attacks arrive constantly. His family has been targeted. Death threats have continued six months after the fact.

“I don’t expect a friendly welcome, which I’m planning on,” Schlittler said.

In the deciding Game 3 of last October’s Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium, Schlittler threw eight scoreless innings, struck out twelve, and sent the Red Sox home for the winter in a 4-0 Yankees win.

GettyCam Schlittler #31 of the New York Yankees pitches during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox in game three of the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium on October 02, 2025 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Schlittler Pitching for Yankees on Thursday

Schlittler arrives at Fenway in the best form of his young career. Through five starts this season he is 2-1 with a 1.95 ERA. The stuff is sharp. The confidence is sharper.

His experience in the city itself over the offseason was positive. Online is a different world entirely. Schlittler spent two to three months in Boston over the winter and has no grievance with the Red Sox organisation or the fans he encountered in person. The problem has always come from behind a screen.

Manager Aaron Boone has watched him handle the noise all season. “He handles it quite well,” Boone said. The competitive edge is there. The focus has never wavered. Friends and family will fill a section of Fenway on Thursday night, rooting for the Yankees. That detail alone tells the full story of how far this has come from his childhood dreams.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – APRIL 12: Cam Schlittler #31 of the New York Yankees reacts after giving up a hit against the Tampa Bay Rays during the second inning of a baseball game at Tropicana Field on April 10, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)

Final Word for the Yankees

Schlittler grew up wanting to pitch at Fenway. Thursday he gets his wish, just not in the uniform Boston had in mind.

The rivalry needed a player like this. Someone with history on both sides of it, with something personal on the line every time he faces this lineup. The Yankees have found that Schlittler, who grew up forty minutes down the road.

Red Sox fans have spent six months making their feelings clear. Schlittler has spent six months getting ready to respond.

Fenway on Thursday night. He cannot wait.