Cam Schlittler used three words, not strikes, for his 13th punchout of the night.
The new Yankees playoff hero had a perfect response to gambling influencer and Boston superfan Lucy Burdge, who proclaimed “Sox in 3” before the first pitch of the deciding game of the wild-card series Thursday night.
“Not this year,” Schlittler replied on X as he celebrated after throwing eight shutout innings against the Red Sox in a 4-0 Yankees win that sends them to the ALDS against the Blue Jays.
Schlittler was a part of the boozy clubhouse celebration at Yankee Stadium after they took two straight against Boston to advance.
“Drinking dat dirty water,” Schlittler, a Massachusetts native, wrote on X shortly after midnight.
The 24-year-old, who routinely topped 100 mph on Thursday night, has impressed since the Yankees called him up in early July.
And he saved his best for the postseason and his hometown team, striking out 12 overmatched Red Sox before exiting to a standing Bronx ovation.
“I had an opportunity to pitch to a good lineup and end their season and get bragging rights over everyone I know back home,” Schlittler said.
That would include Burdge, who partners with DraftKings after a stint with WEEI.
She went through all the emotions on social media as a feel-good Red Sox season ended in painful fashion.
“It’s designed to break your heart,” she wrote shortly after the Yankees plated all four of their runs in the fourth inning.
“I wish this was a best of 7 series, I’m going to miss this,” Burdge wrote with the Red Sox running out of outs to rally.
She also wrote postgame: “If you’re also crashing out reply I love you.”
The Yankees open the ADLS on Saturday in Toronto at 4:08 p.m. ET.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
