Who Pitching for the Yankees in Game 1 vs. Red Sox?

Cam Schlittler will get the ball for the New York Yankees and will be opposed by Payton Tolle of the Boston Red Sox.

New York Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlittler will get the ball in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After a 162-game marathon, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will renew their rivalry once again in the postseason. The Yankees, who have home-field advantage, will kick off their postseason journey in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series against the Red Sox on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.

In the weeks leading up to the MLB playoffs, it seemed as if the two AL East rivals were on a collision course as the Tampa Bay Rays slowly pulled away from the pack, winning the AL East crown and No. 1 seed.

The Yankees faced the Red Sox last year in the wild-card round, where New York took down Boston in three games. New York fans will hope for a similar result this time around, but it will not be easy with uncertainty around the health of superstar outfielder Aaron Judge.

However, the good news for the Yankees is that they have one of the best rotations in baseball this season and will be giving the ball to AL Cy Young favorite Cam Schlittler on Tuesday night.

While Schlittler will do his best to keep the Red Sox bats in check, the Yankees will have to go up against flamethrowing southpaw Payton Tolle, who has electric stuff and has had success vs. New York in his young career.

Below, we’ll break down this pitching matchup further, looking at how these guys have fared this season, their performance down the stretch, and more.

Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series, Sept. 29 (8 p.m. ET): Payton Tolle (BOS) vs. Cam Schlitter (NYY)

Red Sox: Payton Tolle

Before we discuss how excellent Schlittler has been this season for the Bronx Bombers, let’s spend a few moments talking about the 23-year-old Tolle, who has pitched well in his first full season in the majors.

The 6-foot-6, 250-pound southpaw from Stillwater, Oklahoma, boasts a 9-6 record and 3.03 ERA across 26 starts this season. He has recorded 171 strikeouts while allowing only 123 hits, 50 earned runs, 40 walks, and 15 home runs in 148.2 innings.

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Payton Tolle will try to silence the New York Yankees' bats in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Opponents this season are hitting only .222 against Tolle, who has a 34.7% hard-hit rate, which is pretty good. However, left-handed batters have had more success against Tolle in 2026, posting a .248 average and .704 OPS compared to right-handed hitters (.211 average and .624 OPS).

Hopefully, that bodes well for the Yankees, who have a ton of left-handed bats throughout their lineup.

Tolle faced the Yankees twice during the regular season and had success. He picked up a win against New York on June 26, when he held them to one hit with zero earned runs and struck out seven hitters in seven innings. He also allowed two walks in the outing, but it didn’t matter as the Red Sox won 6-1.

In those two starts alone, Tolle had a 0.69 ERA and held the Yankees’ bats to a .093 average and .315 OPS. Lastly, the young pitcher is coming off an excellent final month of the season, in which he recorded a 1.53 ERA in three starts.

Simply put, the Yankees' bats will have their work cut out for them on Tuesday night. And Tolle won't be fazed by the moment, as he made his postseason debut last year vs. the Yankees.

Yankees: Cam Schlittler

At the same time, the Red Sox offense could run into the same problems with Schlittler, who has emerged as one of the best pitchers in the American League and the ace of the Yankees’ staff, which no one likely saw coming.

Schlittler ended the regular season with a 14-6 record and 1.95 ERA in 33 starts. Out of those 33 starts, the 25-year-old All-Star hurler had 19 where he allowed one earned run or fewer.

In fact, the last time Schlittler allowed more than one earned run was on August 3 against the St. Louis Cardinals. In that game, he was lit up for four hits, four earned runs (one home run), and struggled with his command (five walks allowed). Schlittler also had six strikeouts in the contest, but got a quick hook, pitching three innings.

But since that blip against the Cardinals at Yankee Stadium, the right-handed hurler has a 1.17 ERA in his last seven starts.

Unlike Tolle, Schlittler has faced the Red Sox four times this season. The potential AL Cy Young winner has been dominant against the Yankees’ longstanding foe, holding the Red Sox hitters to a .174 batting average and .560 OPS.

Now Schlittler has given up two home runs this season to the Red Sox, but that doesn’t diminish the 0.74 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 24.1 innings. And we can’t forget to mention that Schlittler had an impressive playoff debut against Boston last year. He allowed five hits but zero earned runs, while striking out 12 batters in eight innings.

Nonetheless, based on everything we’ve seen from both pitchers, we could be in for a pitchers’ duel at Yankee Stadium for Game 1.

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