Red Sox right-hander Richard Fitts became the second pitcher in Major League Baseball history to accomplish a feat on Friday night against the Minnesota Twins (GameTracker). Fitts joined Cincinnati Reds lefty Andrew Abbott by beginning his big-league career with three consecutive scoreless starts of at least five innings, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com.
Fitts, 24, threw exactly five shutout frames against the Twins. He allowed five hits and walked one, all the while punching out three of the 21 batters he faced. The Red Sox inserted reliever Luis Guerrero to begin the sixth inning.
According to Statcast, Fitts' fastball averaged 93.5 mph on Friday and generated four whiffs on 17 swings. His other four swinging strikes came courtesy of his slider.
Richard Fitts (@RedSox) becomes the 2nd pitcher in MLB history to deliver 5+ innings without allowing an earned run in each of his first 3 big league starts! pic.twitter.com/fK7SmOsaDo
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 21, 2024
Fitts had previously delivered 5 2/3 scoreless innings in his big-league debut against the Chicago White Sox. He then threw another five shutout innings on the road against the New York Yankees. That start had to be particularly rewarding for Fitts, who was picked by the Yankees by way of Auburn in the sixth round of the 2021 amateur draft.
Fitts was subsequently traded to the Red Sox last December as part of the deal that sent outfielder Alex Verdugo from Boston to New York. The Red Sox also obtained fellow pitchers Nicholas Judice and Greg Weissert as part of the agreement.
At publication time, the Red Sox held a 1-0 lead thanks to an RBI single by veteran infielder Trevor Story in the fourth inning of the contest.
Abbott, for those wondering, has since upped his career total to 46 starts. His big-league ERA is 3.78 ERA (119 ERA+) and he has a 2.44 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Overall, his contributions have been worth an estimated 5.7 Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball Reference's calculations.
