The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox opened up their Wild Card Series on Tuesday night in the Bronx.
On the bump for New York was right-handed ace and AL Cy Young favorite Cam Schlittler, and he dominated his way through the Red Sox like he’s done throughout his entire career thus far.
He pitched 6.1 shutout innings, striking out 10 batters and allowing just two hits while throwing a career-high 117 pitches en route to a 9-0 Game 1 win for the Yankees.
Schlittler’s ERA in his six career starts against the Red Sox is now down to 0.47, with 49 strikeouts across 38.2 innings pitched.
Aaron Boone Makes Honest Statement on Schlittler’s Outing
Following the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone spoke about Schlittler’s historic outing, which saw him throw the most pitches in a playoff start by a Yankees pitcher since CC Sabathia threw 121 in 2012.
“Yeah, awesome. He was great. The only thing was obviously higher pitch count. They made him work there in the first… so they took some tough at bats against him that made it hard for him to get super deep but he was terrific. Probably his best curveball of the year.”
When asked about pushing Schlittler to 117 pitches, Boone said there was no debate about sending him back out in the seventh.
“Yeah, no debate to send him out. I was gonna have him go face Contreras no matter what. Probably should’ve taken him at that point. I got a little greedy. And part of the calculus was the tune up start into the five day with the thought of I’m gonna lead on him a lot today… but he was obviously so good.”
“Probably his best curveball of the year.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone shares his thoughts on Cam Schlittler’s dominant Game 1 performance. pic.twitter.com/WyyaiY6y2P
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) September 30, 2026
Looking Ahead to Game 2 vs. Red Sox
The Yankees will now take a 1-0 series lead into Wednesday night’s matchup against Boston in Game 2, with a chance to close it out and advance to the ALDS.
On the bump for New York will be left-hander Max Fried, while the Red Sox will be pitching righty Sonny Gray.
If Boston wins, the two teams would have to play a Game 3 on Thursday, with RHP Gerrit Cole expected to take the bump for New York against LHP Ranger Suarez.
Yankees Manager Makes Honest Cam Schlittler Statement After Game 1 Win