Cam Schlittler isn’t pretending the noise from Boston has gone away. If anything, he’s using it.
With Tuesday’s Game 1 of the wild-card series on deck, the Yankees ace said Monday that the online jabs from Red Sox fans have become part of the fuel he carries into the matchup.
"I wouldn't say I'm always on my phone looking for that stuff," Schlittler said Monday, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. "At the same time, I don't really live under a rock as well, so I find ways to use that to my advantage. I think I'm good at keeping receipts, and at the end of the day, I'm locked in to go in there tomorrow and do my job."
That mindset has been building for a while. Schlittler said Friday, per Brendan Kuty of The Athletic, that he’s gotten comfortable leaving the comments open after his dominant 12-strikeout outing against the Red Sox in last year’s playoffs.
"I leave my comments on," Schlittler said Friday, per Brendan Kuty of The Athletic. "I let people say whatever they want to say in there. I don't hide any of that."
The 25-year-old enters the series with a strong case for his first Cy Young, after leading the American League with a 1.95 ERA. That number stands as the third-lowest mark for a qualified pitcher in Yankees history.
Schlittler said the criticism doesn’t move him much, no matter how loud it gets online.
"You've got plenty of people that are hating on me and the season I've had," Schlittler said. "At the end of the day, it doesn't really bother me. I still go out there and do my job every five or six days."
And if the Red Sox crowd expects the social-media chatter to be the biggest test, Schlittler pushed back on that too. He made it clear he knows what pitching in New York really asks of him.
"There's nothing better than playing in New York," the right-hander said. "The stuff online is really nothing compared to the pressure you have being a Yankee."
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