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Cam Schlittler strikes out 12, sends Yankees to ALDS after 4-0 win over Red Sox in Game 3

StaffBy No Comments6 Mins Read

Cam Schlittler blasted into Yankee postseason lore Thursday night with a spectacular start in the Yankees’ 4-0 victory over the Red Sox in the deciding game of their AL Wild Card series. 

Schiltter threw eight scintillating shutout innings, allowing only five hits and no walks, and set a record for strikeouts by a Yankee rookie in a playoff game – 12 – all while making throwing 100 miles per hour look easy. 

The series victory means the Yankees advance to a best-of-five AL Division Series against the Blue Jays, which begins Saturday in Toronto. The Red Sox had beaten the Yankees the last three times they had met in the playoffs – 2004, 2018 and 2021. 

The Yankees also made a slice of Wild Card history: They are the first team under the new playoff format (since 2022) to lose the first game of a Wild Card series and go on to win. The team that had won the opening game had been 15-0 in series until the Yanks’ victory.

Here are the takeaways…

-Schlittler was never in real trouble all night – the Red Sox had one at-bat against him with a runner in scoring position and Schlittler struck out Jarren Duran in that at-bat to end the fifth inning. That was also the only frame in which the Red Sox had more than one runner on base against him. Hard to have a big inning that way. Schlittler threw his 100th pitch of the night to get out of the seventh inning but was cruising, so Yankees manager Aaron Boone gave him the eighth, too. Schlittler threw only seven pitches to rocket through the eighth inning. Boone used David Bednar, pitching for the third straight day, to close.

-Schlittler was already a great storyline entering the game. He is a native of Walpole, Mass. – Red Sox territory – grew up rooting for them and pitched in college at Northeastern, which is located in Boston. He was a seventh-round pick by the Yankees in the 2022 draft and says his pro career has essentially converted his whole family to Yankee fans. Schlittler was the fourth rookie pitcher in Yankee history to start a winner-take-all Postseason game, joining Spec Shea in Game 7 of the 1947 World Series, Mel Stottlemyre in Game 7 of the 1964 World Series and Iván Nova in Game 5 of the 2011 ALDS.

-Poor Red Sox fundamentals helped the Yankees in their four-run fourth inning, which was more than enough offense to command the game with the way Schlittler was dealing. Cody Bellinger led off with a bloop into center field that three fielders pursued, but none caught. Bellinger, to his credit, kept running and whirled into second with a lucky double. Giancarlo Stanton followed with a walk and, one out later, Amed Rosario hit an RBI single through the left side. After Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled, Anthony Volpe swatted an RBI hit through the right side when Boston was playing him to pull. Then things got weird. Austin Wells followed and was initially going to be awarded first base on catcher’s interference, but a replay review revealed Carlos Narváez’s mitt never touched Wells’ bat. Wells remained at bat and, on a 3-2 pitch, hit a hard grounder toward first that could’ve been an inning-ending double play, but the ball glanced off Nathaniel Lowe’s glove and two runs scored. It’s worth noting here that the Red Sox made the most errors in the Major Leagues this season and an outfield blunder had cost them dearly in Game 2 when Duran bungled a catchable ball in left.

-Rosario, in the lineup against a lefty for the second time in the series, started at third base. He’s always been good against left-handers – this year, he hit .302 with a .491 slugging percentage against left-handed pitchers, a smidge better than his very-good career numbers.

-Red Sox starter Connelly Early, a 23-year-old lefty who started the season in Double-A, had only 19.1 innings of big-league experience entering Game 3, but had fashioned a 2.33 ERA over four starts while fanning 29 batters. He was quite sharp early on, though his outing crumbled in the fourth. He had struck out five and allowed only two hits through the first three frames, but ended up giving up four runs (three earned) and six hits in 3.2 innings. Lucas Giolito probably would’ve started Game 3 for Boston, but he’s got an elbow issue, which knocked him out of the postseason. 

-Early, who is 23 years, 182 days old, was the youngest pitcher to start a Postseason game for the Red Sox since – get ready for this – 21-year-old Babe Ruth in Game 2 of the 1916 World Series. In that tilt, Ruth threw a 14-inning complete game in a 2-1 Boston victory over the Brooklyn Robins. Yes, it was a much different era. Ruth also had an RBI in the game.

–Ryan McMahon, who entered the game for Rosario in the sixth inning for defense, made a spectacular catch of a foul pop by Duran in the eighth inning, flopping over the railing of the Red Sox dugout to snare the ball for the second out. He popped back up and went back to his spot at third base.

-Maybe the Yankees got some good karma going early by bringing Bucky Dent to the Stadium to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. The timing was certainly right – it was an elimination game against the Red Sox and Thursday was the 47th anniversary of Dent’s famous homer in the one-game playoff between the two teams to decide the AL East title in 1978. Dent’s home run was a key blast in the Yanks’ victory then. 

Game MVP: Cam Schlittler

Schlittler, obviously. It continued a great run of pitching for the Yankee youngster. He finished the regular season with a 2.23 ERA over his final nine starts and a 2.96 ERA in 14 starts overall. Not bad for someone who started the season at the Double-A level. 

Highlights

What's next

The Yankees will move on to the American League Division Series to face their division rival Blue Jays. Game 2 will take place Saturday in Toronto.

 



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