A star was born in the AL East Wild Card series finale, when the New York Yankees’ rookie starting pitcher Cam Schlittler pitched eight shutout innings to eliminate the Boston Red Sox (his hometown team). In the two days since, even Red Sox nation has given it up for the Yankees’ new breakout star.

David Ortiz told TMZ this week that he saw something special in Schlittler from the beginning.

“The first game I saw him pitch, I was like, ‘They have another ace,’” Ortiz told TMZ, per Michael Blinn of the New York Post. “He’s got it, bro. He’s got it. He’s got it.”

Schlittler’s beginning wasn’t long ago; his call-up came in July, and this beatdown was his first-ever postseason outing in the majors. Schlittler threw two 100+ mph strikeouts during the game, two of his 12 in total, allowed zero runs, zero walks, and just five hits. David Bednar, the Yankees’ closer, came in for the ninth and did a beautiful job holding onto what Schlittler had built.

Oct 2, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler (31) throws to the plate in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox during game three of the Wildcard round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

After the game, Schlittler shared that his performance against the Red Sox had been somewhat personal, and confirmed that Sox fans on social media had gone after his mom. This was likely in response to an interview Schlittler had given earlier in the week, sharing that he had converted his Boston suburbs-based family to Yankee fans, given that he is now a pitcher for them. Specifically, his mother had set her Twitter account to private in the wake of some fans’ harassment, which Schlittler internalized and well, you saw the rest. That’ll show ’em.

Ortiz’s praise is particularly notable given how Schlittler ended that outing, appearing to say “f— Boston” as he walked off. On the other hand, Schlittler is from Boston too. In an interaction on Twitter, a Red Sox fan accused Schlittler of not being from Boston, and Schlittler shared his history (with a little sass).

“Went to school in bos for 3 years, I live in Southie during the off season, start preparing for the bruins szn homie ✌,” Schlittler wrote.

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