Jul 7, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Richard Fitts (80) delivers a pitch during the second inning against the Colorado Rockies at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images
The baseball gods were particularly cruel toward Boston Red Sox pitcher Richard Fitts at the start of his major league career.
Due to a combination of bad injury luck and poor run support, Fitts went 11 starts at the start of his career without notching a win. That finally changed on Monday night against the Colorado Rockies at Fenway Park.
Fitts went 5 2/3 innings, his longest outing since Apr. 7, and gave up only two earned runs, which frankly shouldn't have been on his ledger (if Nate Eaton could have simply applied a tag to a runner right in front of him). But the only stat that matters was Fitts' name next to the letter "W" in the box score.
Fitts now owns a 1-4 record as a big-league hurler despite a more than respectable 3.31 ERA.
“I’ve been waiting a while for it,” Fitts said, per Christopher Smith of MassLive. “I’ve got the lineup card for tonight so I’m happy with that."
Fitts struck out six Rockies batters, tying his season-high, walked only one, and surrendered five hits. The Red Sox finally gave him some run support, powering their way to a 9-3 victory on the back of Roman Anthony's three hits and home runs from Ceddanne Rafaela and Romy Gonzalez.
And then, there was the ever-important question. What does Fitts plan to do with the lineup card?
“I think we’re gonna get it framed up,” Fitts said, per Smith. “I’ve got my debut scorecard and I might take my jersey with me (from this one), too, and have some fun with it. Whenever I have a man cave, I’ll put it in there.”
It may not have been the rookie season Fitts envisioned for himself so far (4.28 ERA in eight starts), but Monday was a big step in the right direction. And Boston could really use him moving forward if he's going to be a reliable number-four or five starter.
