NEW YORK (AP) — Tanner Houck was scratched from his scheduled start for the Boston Red Sox on Friday night against the New York Yankees due to right shoulder fatigue.
Rookie right-hander Richard Fitts replaced Houck on the mound at Yankee Stadium, making his second career start in a game with playoff implications for both teams.
The switch was announced a little less than an hour before the first pitch. Boston manager Alex Cora said he told Fitts he was starting toward the end of batting practice.
Fitts retired his first two batters, then walked three straight to load the bases before falling behind 3-0 on Jazz Chisholm Jr. Following a strike, Chisholm flied out to the center-field warning track.
After that, Fitts settled in. He pitched five shutout innings, allowing two hits with three walks and two strikeouts. He threw 56 of 90 pitches for strikes, and Cora rubbed Fitts on the head in the dugout when his outing was over.
Boston’s bullpen blew a 4-0 lead in the seventh, though, and the Yankees won 5-4 on Aaron Judge’s go-ahead grand slam that snapped the longest home run drought of his career at 16 games.
“It was a pretty unreal night. I was excited to be here,” said Fitts, traded by the Yankees in December. “It was a quick turnaround to find out when I was starting, but I welcome the challenge. I was expecting to pitch today and just getting the start, it’s pretty cool to have that here in Yankee Stadium, and I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help the team win.”
The 28-year-old Houck, who earned his first All-Star selection this season, is 8-10 with a 3.24 ERA in 28 starts. He has thrown 169 2/3 innings — his previous career high was 106 last year.
“This guy’s very important for us, not only for now but for the future, and for him to go out the way he was, we were going to pay the consequences after that one,” Cora said. “So just take care of him the next few days and see where we’re at in Tampa.”
Houck hasn’t pitched since Sept. 4 in New York against the Mets. He took the loss in that game, allowing four runs and five hits in five innings while throwing 84 pitches. His next scheduled turn was pushed back a few days because of soreness.
“Tanner’s OK. When he got here, he was on the table, (head athletic trainer Brandon Henry) was working on him and he felt like he was a little bit tight,” Cora said. “He did some testing and the shoulder is weaker than yesterday. So for us, it doesn’t make sense (to have him pitch).
“We don’t feel like this is going to take longer. It just felt like today, Brandon, he was very proactive.”
Hours earlier, Cora had expected Houck to be fine.
“The feedback in between innings is going to be important. He feels great. He played catch yesterday, felt loose, so he’ll be ready,” Cora said about two hours before the game.
But he also said he told Houck not to “try to play superhero here.”
“`If you can go, you go. But if you feel something, let us know,’” Cora recounted.
Houck is 0-4 in nine starts since his most recent win July 11 against Oakland.
“He’s been able to post, going deep into the games,” Cora said. “He went through that bad stretch, the All-Star Game and right after that, but he’s been solid the last few weeks.”
Fitts was acquired from the Yankees last December in the trade that sent outfielder Alex Verdugo to New York — a rare deal between the longtime rivals.
The 24-year-old Fitts made his major league debut Sunday at Fenway Park, permitting two runs — none earned — and six hits over 5 2/3 innings in a no-decision against the Chicago White Sox. He struck out two, walked one and threw 44 of his 66 pitches for strikes.
Boston (74-74) is 4 1/2 games behind Minnesota for the final AL wild card. New York has the best record in the American League at 86-62 and is three games ahead of second-place Baltimore in the AL East.
In other injury news, reliever Liam Hendriks said he still hopes to pitch for the Red Sox this season despite a small setback in his rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery — but that will largely depend on whether they remain in the pennant race.
Hendriks will receive a cortisone injection in his right elbow Monday in Boston and then be shut down for about three days before he resumes throwing.
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