Red Sox Prospect Has Career Day At Triple-A Worcester
Richard Fitts ended the 2023 season as a member of the New York Yankees organization. Six months later, he was with the rival Boston Red Sox after being a key piece in the Alex Verdugo trade. Fitts, a 6′ 3″ right-handed starting pitcher, has impressed during his time in Boston’s organization. But nothing compared to his dazzling performance on Wednesday evening. It was a career day at Triple-A Worcester for Richard Fitts.
Richard Fitts Has Career Day At Triple-A Worcester
A Rocky Road
Fitts entered Wednesday’s game against the Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, sporting a 4.35 ERA over nine appearances. He had recently rebounded off a tough outing on May 17, where Scranton tagged him with six runs in just three innings. But just two weeks later, that bump in the road was nowhere near the pitcher’s mound. On Wednesday, Richard Fitts was nothing short of stellar.
A Stellar Outing
Fitts started the contest off strongly, retiring the first three batters on 14 pitches. One of those was White Sox rehabber Luis Robert Jr., who Fitts popped up to end the inning. Eight pitches later and Fitts was through the second without any issue. That continued through the third inning. After three, Fitts had two strikeouts and sat down the first nine Knights batters.
The bottom of the fourth featured another duel against Robert Jr. Fitts punched him out on three pitches to end the inning and remain perfect. His roll kept going through both the fifth and sixth innings with ease. And with just nine batters and nine outs ahead of him, Fitts was just 66 pitches in. It’s rare to see a minor league pitcher throw into the seventh, but that’s exactly what Fitts did on Wednesday night. He got through the seventh frame untouched. A third and final battle with Robert Jr. came to an end with his second strikeout of the night.
Worcester led 5-0 at the end of seven and, with six outs between him and a perfect game, Richard Fitts toed the mound to start the eighth. After throwing a strike, he tossed an 88 mph slider down the middle. Charlotte right fielder Oscar Colás deposited the ball into center field for a single. It was the Knights’ first baserunner of the evening. After sitting down the first 21 batters, Fitts was removed from the contest
