The Boston Red Sox’s series opener against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night got off to a disastrous start. Rookie pitcher Richard Fitts, who came into the game with an impressive 2.70 ERA over 20 innings in four starts, quickly unraveled as the Angels jumped on him in the top of the first inning. He barely escaped the inning, giving up six runs (five earned), setting the tone for Boston’s eventual 7-6 defeat.
Given how strong Fitts had been in the first eight starts of his major league career, his rough outing was unexpected—especially against an Angels team ranked just 20th in runs per game. The 25-year-old rookie was visibly shaken by the outing, expressing deep disappointment in his performance, which he called the worst of his career.
“Terrible. I thought the team played well enough to win outside of me, so I feel awful. I put us in a bad spot—not just for this game, but for the bullpen in the coming days, too. No one feels worse about this than I do,” Fitts told Christopher Smith of MassLive.
To stabilize things, the Red Sox turned to Hunter Dobbins, who delivered five solid innings while allowing just one run. Unfortunately, that single run proved costly as Boston managed only six runs on the night. It was not the ideal start to a three-game series.
Still, Fitts has shown he can compete at the major league level through his first eight starts. What matters now is how he responds. The key will be preventing this tough outing from snowballing into a larger issue for both himself and the team.
Garrett Crochet has exceeded expectations for the Red Sox, thriving as the ace of the rotation with an impressive 1.98 ERA over 13 starts. However, the rest of the starting staff has struggled with inconsistency, and Fitts—once considered a possible frontline solution—fell short in his outing on Monday.
Turning to Dobbins to compensate for Fitts would further strain Boston’s already thin pitching depth, but Brayan Bello will aim to steer the team back on track when he takes the mound for Game 2 of the series against the Angels.