The New York Yankees announced Sunday that Cam Schlittler will start Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. The decision ended a genuine internal debate about whether to hold the likely Cy Young winner for Game 2.
In the end, the Yankees went with the straightforward answer. They are giving the ball to their best pitcher. And against this particular opponent, the numbers suggest there may not be a better matchup in baseball right now.
Schlittler was half asleep on the training table when manager Aaron Boone delivered the news Sunday morning.
What Schlittler Has Done to the Red Sox
The numbers against Boston are staggering.
Across five career starts against the Red Sox, Schlittler owns a 0.55 ERA. He has recorded 39 strikeouts across 32⅓ innings of work. He is 3-1 in those outings, with the only loss coming in a game where the offense failed to support him.
This season alone, he posted a 0.74 ERA in four starts against Boston. He held the Red Sox to a total of three earned runs across those four outings while the rest of the American League spent most of the year trying to figure out how to score off him at all.
The most memorable performance came in last year’s playoffs. Schlittler delivered eight scoreless frames with 12 punchouts in the game that ended Boston’s season. That outing announced him as a pitcher capable of dominating on the biggest stage. Everything since has confirmed it.
“He wants the ball, and he’s ready to go,” Boone said.
The Hometown Factor
Schlittler grew up in Walpole, Massachusetts. He attended Northeastern University in Boston. He was a Red Sox fan as a kid. The team he grew up rooting for is the team he has owned since arriving in the major leagues.
There is something unusual about a pitcher who performs better against his childhood team than against anyone else on the schedule. Schlittler does not just beat the Red Sox. He shuts them down.
His 0.55 career ERA against Boston would be the best mark any pitcher has posted against the Red Sox over a five-start span in the modern era if it holds through Tuesday. The 39 strikeouts in 32⅓ innings translate to a rate that exceeds even his overall season numbers.
Final Word for the Yankees
Cam Schlittler grew up in Massachusetts watching the Red Sox. Now he pitches against them like he has something personal to prove every time.
Tuesday night will be the biggest start of his career, and the opponent he has dominated more than any other is the one standing across the diamond.
The Yankees are giving him the ball. Based on what he has done to Boston, it was never really a debate.
Yankees Make Game 1 Decision That Should Concern Red Sox