Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Richard Fitts was not in an enviable position on Friday night.

Less than an hour before first pitch at Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox cut Tanner Houck from the roster and inserted Fitts, who was set to make his second career MLB start. A very short notice to face a highly touted Yankees lineup under the bright lights of Yankee Stadium usually spells trouble for young pitchers.

But not for Fitts.

The 24-year-old once again delivered a strong performance on the major league mound, pitching five scoreless innings in which he allowed two hits, three walks and two strikeouts. The two he struck out? New York’s best hitters Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, who hit Cam Booser for a monumental and decisive grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning in a 5-4 win for the Yankees.

When he got to pitch against the Yankees, Fitts had the opportunity to show them what they were missing. New York drafted the right-hander in the sixth round of the 2021 draft before sending him and two other pitchers – Greg Weissert and Nicholas Judice – to the Red Sox in the offseason for Alex Verdugo.

Fitts’ first inning was a balancing act. He got two outs before loading the bases, but he got out of trouble when he got Jazz Chisholm Jr. to fly out and end the threat. Fitts came into the game well after that, striking out nine of 10 batters from the second through the fourth innings.

“At some point a couple of years ago, he knew he was going to pitch at Yankee Stadium,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said during a mid-game interview on the Apple TV+ broadcast. “He’s competitive, he’s got good stuff and hopefully he can give us five (innings).”

Fitts gave the Red Sox the five innings they expected and finished his performance by getting Soto to see a splitter in the zone. It felt like Fitts, who threw 90 pitches, might have gotten the Red Sox one more inning, but Cora wasn’t having it.

Fitts also faced Verdugo twice that night, striking him out each time. It’s been a miserable season in pinstripes for Verdugo, who is on the verge of being eliminated from New York’s outfield rotation. Verdugo hit 0-for-3 off the Yankees’ No. 9 hitter on Friday and is batting a career-low .236 with 12 home runs and 58 RBIs. It’s been such a bizarre season for Verdugo that he felt some of his problems stemmed from an allergy to the material of his batting gloves.

Verdugo will be a free agent at the end of this season and will likely leave New York. The Yankees will not miss him.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox have gotten the most out of this move, as it looks like Fitts could contribute to Boston’s starting lineup in some capacity for years to come.

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Here are more notes from the Red Sox game against the Yankees on Friday:

— Someone wake up Zack Kelly when September is over. It’s been an ugly start to the month for the Red Sox relief pitcher, and it got even uglier against the Yankees when he allowed two walks and three runs without getting an out. Kelly has now allowed 10 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings (seven appearances) this month.

“The last few weeks, this whole month, have really been the toughest phase of my entire career,” Kelly told reportersaccording to Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald.

— Houck’s start was pushed back to Friday, but he wasn’t ready due to fatigue in his right shoulder. Cora said the Red Sox wanted to proceed cautiously with Houck rather than force the right-hander into his 29th start of the season.

“We have done some tests and the shoulder is weaker than yesterday,” Cora told reportersaccording to Starr. “…We don’t feel like this is going to last any longer. …This guy is very important to us, not just now but for the future, and if he leaves the way he is, we would have had to face the consequences afterward.”

— Trevor Story showed off the power of his bat when he hit his first home run of the season in the loss. Story hit a two-run home run to opposite field against Mark Leiter Jr., going 2-for-4 at the plate.

— It seems no coincidence that the Red Sox offense has become a little livelier lately, as Jarren Duran is showing signs of emerging from his slump. Duran, who entered September with a .192 batting average (9-for-47), had three hits.

— Standings: The Red Sox missed a key opportunity to make up ground on the Minnesota Twins, who lost to the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night. Boston remains 4 1/2 games behind the Twins for the third and final wild-card spot in the American League.

— The Red Sox and Yankees continue their series Saturday in the Bronx, with Brayan Bello and Gerrit Cole set to duel. First pitch at Yankee Stadium is set for 1:05 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game plus an hour of pregame coverage on NESN.