Yankees Have Rookie Pitcher Advantage Over Red Sox

Naturally, both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have their seasons riding on the performance of their respective rookie starting pitchers in a winner-take-all Game Three in the Wild Card Series.

New York kept its World Series hopes alive with a tight 4-3 victory in Game Two, and the club will now hand the ball to right-hander Cam Schlittler while left-hander Connelly Early is set to toe the rubber for Boston.

In this decisive matchup of two promising first-year arms looking to help their teams advance to the ALDS, where they'd face the Toronto Blue Jays, the advantage goes to Schlittler and the Yankees.

Sep 16, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlittler (31) delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Schlittler's Rookie Season

A seventh-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, Schlittler was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on July 9 and made his big-league debut against the Seattle Mariners on the following day.

He owned a 4.38 ERA and 5.93 FIP through his first five outings for the Yankees, but those figures sat at 2.23 and 2.62, respectively, across his final nine starts during the regular season with 60 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings.

Sep 16, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Connelly Early (71) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Athletics at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images | Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

Early's Rookie Year

A fifth-rounder in 2023, Early posted a 2.60 ERA in 100 1/3 minor league innings this season before getting called up and making his debut for the Red Sox on September 9 vs. the Athletics.

The 23-year-old has excelled to the tune of a 2.33 ERA, 1.086 WHIP and 29 strikeouts over four outings and 19 1/3 innings. He helped Boston clinch a playoff spot, and now he's being entrusted with a start in the club's biggest game of the year after being thrust into this spot while Lucas Giolito deals with an elbow injury.

Why Yankees Have Advantage

There's no denying just how impressive Early has been for Boston. He got hitters to chase at an absurd 36.7 percent rate and had an elite 5.1 percent rate in the regular season to go along with his impressive stats that were previously mentioned.

The issue for the Red Sox in this case, however, is that New York tied for the most home runs against left-handed pitching this season with 70 while owning the best OPS against them by a rather wide margin at .797 as well.

For as well as Early has performed too, Schlittler allowed just one earned run in 12 1/3 innings with 15 strikeouts across his final two starts of the regular season and found just as much success during his first go-around in the majors as his Game Three counterpart has over a larger sample size.

The Yankees have reasons to feel confident heading into their final matchup of the year against the Red Sox, and it all starts with their upper hand on the mound.

Make sure to bookmark Yankees On SI to get all your daily New York Yankees news, interviews, breakdowns and more!