Cam Schlittler struck out 13 Reds hitters but still saved his best fastball for exposing an online troll.
In an appropriately savage move, the Yankees ace revealed Friday night a taste of the line-crossing hate that athletes face when he published unfiltered to his Instagram story the messages sent to him by a Red Sox fan using the handle “Kyle_Lynch11.”
Schlittler captioned the post “rent free” while including two crying laughing emojis.
The verbal attacks started before Schlittler’s historic start against the Red Sox in the playoffs last season and continued through his Friday night masterpiece.
A patient Schlittler only replied once in the thread, writing “stop gazing lil bro” at 1:14 p.m. Friday, roughly six hours before his first pitch at Yankee Stadium.
The most common message was calling Schlittler a “p—y.”
The fan wrongly predicted the “Reds are gonna light u up tnite” before Schlittler struck out 13 in six scoreless innings and lowered his ERA to a Whitey Ford-like 1.64.
The trolling started Oct. 3, 2025, when the fan messaged Schilittler to “wait till we got our full squad u clown.” The thought was that “Roman (Anthony) will own u.”
The fan was angry that Schlittler – a Walpole, Mass. native who grew up as a Red Sox fan – was pitching for the Yankees. As if he had a choice in where he was drafted and developed.
“Never forget where u came from,” one message read.
Schlitter instead made sure Red Sox fans never forget him with his historical MLB playoff debut, when he struck out 12 in eight scoreless innings to clinch the winner-take-all Game 3 of the Wild Card Series.
Schlittler is the American League Cy Young betting favorite in just his second season and has seemed to especially enjoy feasting on the Red Sox and their fans. Now we have a taste of why.
This one particular fan’s message thread didn’t appear to send any of the “death threats” that Schlittler previously told The Post he and his family – including a father who is a police chief in Massachusetts – have been besieged by as part of a rivalry-gone-wrong.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
