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Cam Schlittler Cements Status As Red Sox Killer in Yankees’ Game 1 Win

The AL Cy Young favorite dominated the Red Sox yet again to help the Yankees take a 1–0 lead in the best-of-three wild-card series.
Will Laws, Tom Verducci|
Cam Schlittler threw six scoreless innings against the Red Sox on Tuesday.
Cam Schlittler threw six scoreless innings against the Red Sox on Tuesday. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Boston Red SoxNew York Yankees

When the Yankees and Red Sox square off in October, it's always appointment viewing. New York’s Game 1 win on Tuesday night was no different, even if a late surge enlarged the final score (9–0) and made it look like a laugher.

Cam Schlittler tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings and a career-high 117 pitches, racking up 10 strikeouts along the way, while only allowing two hits and a walk to utterly dominate a team he’s gotten used to beating. His ERA against his hometown team in Boston is now 0.47, the lowest by any pitcher against the Red Sox with at least five games started against them since 1913.

Only three balls left the infield against the Walpole, Mass. native. Schlittler, 25, became the youngest pitcher in postseason history with two scoreless starts with 10 or more strikeouts (both vs. Boston). Only five others have done it at any age: Justin Verlander (who did it three times), Sandy Koufax, Kevin Brown, Randy Johnson and Cliff Lee. Schlittler typically throws 89% fastballs, but he made use of his curveball like he never had before, throwing 32 curves and inducing eight whiffs on 16 swings on them while allowing just one hit (his last pitch of the game).

Ben Rice was the leader on offense for New York, going 4-for-5 with two home runs, six RBIs and 11 total bases. His grand slam in the eighth inning extended the Yankees’ lead to the final nine-run advantage.

Red Sox rookie starter Payton Tolle did a fine job in his first career playoff start, allowing one run on five hits in 4 2/3 innings while striking out four, but it wasn’t enough with Schlittler opposing him.

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Will Laws
WILL LAWS

Will Laws has been leading Sports Illustrated’s baseball coverage since 2024 and has covered MLB since 2014. Prior to joining the SI staff in February 2020, he previously worked for Yahoo, Graphiq, MLB.com and the Raleigh News & Observer. His work also has appeared on Yahoo Sports, NBA.com and AOL. Laws has a bachelor’s in print and digital journalism with a minor in sports media studies from the University of Southern California.

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Tom Verducci
TOM VERDUCCI

Tom Verducci is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated who has covered Major League Baseball since 1981. He also serves as an analyst for FOX Sports and the MLB Network; is a New York Times best-selling author; and cohosts The Book of Joe podcast with Joe Maddon. A five-time Emmy Award winner across three categories (studio analyst, reporter, short form writing) and nominated in a fourth (game analyst), he is a three-time National Sportswriter of the Year winner, two-time National Magazine Award finalist, and a Penn State Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient. Verducci is a member of the National Sports Media Hall of Fame, Baseball Writers Association of America (including past New York chapter chairman) and a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 1993. He also is the only writer to be a game analyst for World Series telecasts. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, with whom he has two children.

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