NEW YORK — Rookie Cam Schlittler struck out 12 in eight innings during a stellar postseason debut as the New York Yankees eliminated the Boston Red Sox with a 4-0 victory in Game 3 of the American League wild-card series on Thursday night.
The Yankees, who won the final two games of the best-of-three set, advance to the AL Division Series to face the Blue Jays. Game 1 of the best-of-five series is scheduled for Saturday in Toronto.
New York capitalized on shaky Boston defense in a four-run fourth inning. That was more than enough for Schlittler (1-0), who allowed five hits and no walks while throwing consistently in the upper 90s. The 24-year-old right-hander fired 75 of his career-high 107 pitches for strikes.
“I was locked in,” said Schlittler, a Massachusetts native. “I knew exactly what I needed to do and go out there, especially against my hometown team. As I told Andy (Pettitte) yesterday, I wasn’t going to let them beat me. I was just overconfident in that fact. Making sure I wasn’t getting too carried away with it.”
Schlittler joined Roger Clemens (15 in 2000), Gerrit Cole (13 in 2020) and Orlando Hernandez (12 in 2000) as the fourth player in Yankees history with at least 12 strikeouts in a postseason game. He is the only rookie in that group.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “Every time he has taken the ball, I feel so good about him … because he is such a good strike-thrower and with that stuff. … Like I knew (the moment) wasn’t going to be too big for him.”
Added New York slugger Aaron Judge about his rookie teammate, “What a performance.”
Schlittler ended the seventh by fanning Wilyer Abreu on his 100th pitch as Fernando Cruz warmed up. He needed seven more pitches to finish the eighth, which was aided by third baseman Ryan McMahon falling into the Boston dugout to catch a foul pop by Jarren Duran.
Amed Rosario hit an RBI single and Anthony Volpe added a bases-loaded single off Boston rookie Connelly Early (0-1). The last two runs scored when first baseman Nathaniel Lowe misplayed Austin Wells’ grounder.
In the postseason for the first time since 2021, the Red Sox got short starts from Brayan Bello and Early after Garrett Crochet’s 117-pitch masterpiece on Tuesday.
Early allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits in 3 2/3 innings. The left-hander struck out six and walked one.
Cody Bellinger started the fourth-inning rally by hustling for a double when Abreu could not make a diving catch in right field. Giancarlo Stanton followed with a walk. One out later, Rosario drove in Bellinger with a single to left, Jazz Chisholm Jr. loaded the bases with a hit, and Volpe stroked a single to right for a 2-0 lead.
Wells fell behind 0-2 in the count but capped a nine-pitch at-bat by hitting a grounder off Lowe’s glove that trickled into right field and allowed Rosario and Chisholm to score.
New York closer David Bednar pitched around a walk in the ninth inning.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said, “We didn’t finish the way we wanted. That’s not … great, but we will sit down and reflect how the season went. We will talk about it in the upcoming days. …
“We took a step forward in certain areas. Like I always said, we are not a perfect team. We are a good team that needs to keep improving, and let’s see what the offseason brings. But I truly believe we are going to keep getting better.”
