Perched in the stands at Yankee Stadium, John and Christine Schlittler were overcome with emotion as their son, Cam, finished his Yankees debut.
As Yankees manager Aaron Boone walked out to replace Schlittler in the sixth inning of Wednesday’s game against the Mariners, the YES Network camera panned to John and Christine, who shared an emotional embrace.
A group of what appeared to be Schlittler’s friends and other family cheered around them, with some holding up signs in support of the 6-foot-6 righty from Walpole, Mass.
Schlittler allowed three earned runs and four hits in 5 1/3 innings of work. He struck out seven.
Besides the heartfelt reaction from his family, the performance also earned Schlittler a standing ovation from the crowd.
The Yankees called up Schlittler from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday to replace Clarke Schmidt, who is likely to undergo Tommy John surgery after getting hurt on Thursday in Toronto.
In 76 2/3 innings with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Double-A Somerset this season, the Northeastern University product posted a 2.82 ERA with 99 strikeouts.