CHICAGO — Red Sox rookie right-hander Richard Fitts was cruising through his third start of the season Saturday. Then, suddenly, injury struck in the bottom of the sixth.
After tossing five shutout innings as the Red Sox claimed a 2-0 lead, Fitts unleashed a sweeper to Miguel Vargas, then immediately grabbed under his throwing arm in clear discomfort. Manager Alex Cora and a team trainer visited Fitts on the mound and promptly pulled him out of the game.
The Red Sox termed Fitts’ injury to be “right shoulder pain.” He will fly to Boston on Sunday morning and have an MRI on Monday, according to Cora. Specifics were scarce but there’s clear concern about Fitts’ short-term future on the mound.
“Whenever you have to come out of the game and talk about MRIs, you always get concerned,” said Cora. “He really wanted to keep going and my job is to take care of my players. Hopefully, we stopped at the right time and he didn’t miss too much time.”
Before the injury, Fitts had allowed just two White Sox hits while striking out five. He was pitching with a lead after Ceddanne Rafaela (RBI triple) and Romy Gonzalez (RBI single) plated runs off lefty Martín Pérez in the top of the fifth. In the sixth, he threw an 0-2 sweeper to Vargas and began to feel tightness in his shoulder injury. The sensation repeated itself on the 1-2 pitch (also a ball), necessitating a visit from Cora and trainers.
“Something different that I haven’t felt before,” Fitts said. “I felt like I was in a groove, then wasn’t able to throw my best pitches. I had to call them out there.”
Fitts, who has a 3.18 ERA through three starts this season, entered the year as Boston’s No. 4 starter once it became clear Brayan Bello, Lucas Giolito and Kutter Crawford would begin the year on the injured list. He has arguably been Boston’s second-best starter behind Garrett Crochet through three turns. Now, he faces the possibility of a prolonged absence.
“Hopefully, nothing’s going on,” Fitts said. “I’ve never missed a start in my professional career and I take a lot of pride in my health.”
“It’s really disappointing for it to happen, especially in the game we were having today. But I feel confident in our staff and our team, too, that we’re going to make the right decisions and find out what’s going on.”
Fitts’ injury comes at a time when the Red Sox are getting close to reconfiguring their starting five. Bello and Giolito, who are nearing the end of minor league rehab assignments, are close to making their season debuts and are expected back in the next couple weeks. Boston could also look to call someone up from Triple-A like Hunter Dobbins or Cooper Criswell in the short-term. Fitts’ turn in the rotation comes up again Friday at home against the White Sox.
Making the injury even more crushing for the 25-year-old was the fact he was dominating before feeling the discomfort. The Red Sox lost to the White Sox, 3-2, when Brooks Baldwin hit a walk-off single off Aroldis Chapman in the ninth.
“The gameplan was really good. I took a step up, I think, in preparing for the game and even moving on from the last outing, too,” he said. “I really felt strong and comfortable and confident with every pitch. Even through the last pitch, I felt like I could get anybody out with any pitch.”
