Red Sox bullpen denies Richard Fitts first MLB win

But the Red Sox bullpen has become that uninvited guest who shows up at the party, eats all the food, and falls asleep on your couch.

It happened again as Zack Kelly and Cam Booser combined to allow five runs in the seventh inning, four coming on a grand slam by Aaron Judge that felt like the most predictable home run in baseball history.

The Sox were left with a bitter 5-4 loss.

Many of the players had stunned looks as they sat at their lockers after the game. The clubhouse was so quiet that "New York, New York" could be heard playing in the Stadium through the door that leads to the field.

"It's a tough one," manager Alex Cora said.

After taking a 4-0 lead in the top of the seventh inning on Trevor Story's first home run of the season, Cora needed nine outs from the bullpen.

Justin Slaten, who pitched the sixth inning, wasn't part of the mix. He also wanted to stay away from using Chris Martin for a third consecutive game.

His first choice was Zack Kelley, who walked Anthony Volpe on six pitches then got ahead of Verdugo 0-2 before walking him.

"You have to throw strikes. You have to throw strikes," Cora said. "It's a 4-0 lead with the eighth and ninth hitter up. We've got to throw strikes."

Gleyber Torres singled to drive in a run. With Juan Soto up, Cora wanted a lefthander and went to Booser.

He didn't come close to the plate on any of his four pitches to Soto. Booser fell behind Judge 2-0 and the next pitch was finally a strike.

That Judge only hit it 369 feet and not 569 feet was the only surprise.

Kelly and Booser took full accountability for their mistakes. That has become a running theme. The Sox bullpen has a 6.32 earned run average since the All-Star break along with 15 blown saves.

Blame Cora for his choices if you want. But it's not like he's ignoring many better ones.

That Fitts was denied his first major league victory was far down on the list of concerns. But he deserved better.

The 24-year-old righthander from Alabama was drafted by the Yankees in 2021. He didn't get into a minor league game until the following season but pitched well for two years.

The Red Sox noticed, and Fitts was one of the three pitching prospects they obtained from the Yankees for Verdugo. It was the most significant trade the old rivals had made in decades.

Verdugo has been a bust for the Yankees, but the Sox may be onto something with Fitts.

The rookie hadn't stepped foot in Yankee Stadium until Thursday and didn't expect to start on Friday. He was a late replacement for Tanner Houck, who was unable to go because of lingering shoulder issues.

Fitts found out during practice that he would start. He never imagined his first start at Yankee Stadium would be as a member of the Sox.

"I'm just super blessed and super thankful to have the opportunity to wear a Red Sox uniform now and hopefully for a long time to come," Fitts said.

For a few minutes, it looked like Fitts might not get out of the first inning.

He retired the first two hitters then walked Judge, Austin Wells and Giancarlo Stanton on 18 pitches. Fitts fell behind Jazz Chisholm 3-0 but came back to get a fly ball to center.

"That's something I don't want to do, walk three guys in the inning or walk three guys in general," Fitts said.

He put only two more hitters on base and ended his outing having retired 12 of 13.

Fitts has allowed two unearned runs over 102⁄3 innings in his first two starts.

Maybe they should make the kid a reliever.