For the second straight year, the New York Yankees will face the Boston Red Sox in the Wild Card Series. The question will be who the Yankees will go with to open the series, and WFAN’s Chris McMonigle already sees how New York will line up its rotation for this series.
Rather than having Cam Schlittler open the series and potentially have a 1-0 start to the series, McMonigle believes that the Yankees will have their ace start Game 2 as an insurance policy. If that were the case, Schlittler would either extend the series or close it out for New York.
“I think they’re going to pitch Max Fried in Game 1, and I think they’re gonna pitch Cam Schlittler in Game 2,” McMonigle said on Sept. 25 on WFAN. “So that either closes it out or extends it.”
This season, Schlittler has been dominant on the mound, registering a 14-6 record with an ERA of 1.95 and 239 strikeouts in 33 appearances, per StatMuse. As a result, it makes sense why McMonigle would want Schlittler in a game-clinching or season-saving game.
Why Yankees Should Wait to Start Cam Schlittler in Game 2
Moreover, McMonigle explained why he sees the Yankees going this route. Although New York has to respect Boston, they also have to keep an eye on the American League Division Series should the Yankees get past the Red Sox and how their rotation sets up for that series.
“My thought is, one, explain to me how it makes a difference,” McMonigle added. “He’s pitching one game in the series. That’s it. He’s pitching one game. It’s not like it’s a big-time series, a five-game series or a seven-game series, where the earlier you pitch him, the better chance you have of pitching him again. If he couldn’t pitch two games in the ALDS, they would have no choice but to pitch him Game 1.
There is, in the ALDS, a day off between Game 1 and Game 2 at Yankee Stadium. So the pitcher of Game 1 or Game 2 can pitch Game 2 and Game 5 in the ALDS. So it opens him up to still be able to pitch Game 2 and Game 5.”
New York Urged to Start Cam Schlittler in Game 1 Rather Than Game 2
Nonetheless, in that same segment, Craig Carton believes that the Yankees should do the opposite and start Cam Schlittler. Carton believes New York should set the tone with their ace on the mound rather than using him as insurance to save the season and extend the series if they lose Game 1 to Boston.
“I’d rather be up 1-0 and have two shots to win one game than tell Max Fried, or Gerrit Cole, for that matter,” Carton said on Sept. 25 on WFAN. “But it’d be Fried if Schlittler plays Game 1, obviously. I’d rather not put Max Fried in that spot where now the season’s on the line again and again.
“Maybe this is old-school thinking, but I put my best pitcher on the mound in Game 1. I think the advantage is I’d rather be up 1-0 than down 1-0.”
It will be interesting to see what manager Aaron Boone decides to do, as he has this weekend to ponder his rotation for the Wild Card Series.
Yankees Handed Rotation Prediction for Red Sox Wild Card Series