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One AL East nemesis slayed. Now another one awaits.
Led by a flamethrowing rookie pitcher and an offense that took advantage of putting the ball in play instead of waiting for the long ball, the Yankees finished off a comeback against the Red Sox in the AL wild-card series to advance to the ALDS against the Blue Jays .
Cam Schlittler turned in a masterful performance , striking out 12 across eight shutout innings, making a four-run fourth inning stand up from his offense to capture a 4-0 win over the Red Sox in Game 3 on Thursday night, taking the series 2-1 in front of a raucous Yankee Stadium crowd of 48,833.
Schlittler, the 24-year-old who grew up a Red Sox fan outside of Boston before being drafted by the Yankees in 2022, continued his meteoric rise after starting the year in Double-A.
Cam Schlittler struck out 12 in the Game 3 win. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Routinely pumping 100 mph fastballs and sinkers in the early innings, the right-hander put the Yankees' October dreams on his shoulders and dominated a pesky Red Sox club that had threatened to end their season after winning Game 1.
"It's personal for me," Schlittler said. "People from Boston had a lot to say before the game, so for me, just being a silent killer, being able to go out there and shut them down.
"We're aggressive back home and we're going to try to get under people's skins. They just picked the wrong guy to do it to — and the wrong team to do it to as well."
This marked the first playoff series the Yankees have won against the Red Sox since Aaron Boone walked off the 2003 ALCS, having lost the 2004 ALCS, 2018 ALDS and 2021 wild-card game in between.
It was also the first playoff series the Yankees have won against a non-AL Central team — aside from a one-game wild card against the A's in 2018 — since beating the Orioles in the 2012 ALDS.
The Yankees, who went 4-9 against the Red Sox during the regular season, begin the ALDS on Saturday in Toronto , trying to reverse another lopsided season series won by the Blue Jays 8-5.
After the Tigers and Cubs won their series earlier Thursday, it became 15 times in 15 wild-card series (since the playoffs expanded in 2022) that the winner of Game 1 has gone on to take the series. The Yankees bucked that trend, too.
Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler throws to the Boston Red Sox in the first inning in the Bronx. JASON SZENES/ NY POST
Manager Alex Cora pulls Boston Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early from the game in the fourth inning. JASON SZENES/ NY POST
"Honestly, going into the night for me personally, it felt like as pressure-packed a game as I have ever been in, as a player, manager, going into World Series, that's clinching to go into a World Series, just because the context in my brain of what I think our team is," Boone said. "A great opponent. A storied opponent. Here, down one. The boys answered the bell and played great baseball these couple days."
Schlittler used the adrenaline of the environment to come out firing, including the fastest pitch of his career on a 100.7-mph sinker that froze Nathaniel Lowe for a strikeout in the second inning.
Cody Bellinger #35 of the New York Yankees scores on Amed Rosario's RBI single during the fourth inning. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Yankees catcher Austin Wells (28) makes it to first on fielding error during the fourth inning. Robert Sabo for NY Post
The only problem was that his fellow rookie, Red Sox lefty Connelly Early , was matching him early with zeroes.
And then the fourth inning began with a well-placed bloop into right-center field by Cody Bellinger , the ball falling just beyond the reach of a diving Ceddanne Rafaela .
Bellinger hustled the whole way to end up with a double before Giancarlo Stanton drew a walk.
Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees reacts after he hits a double during the second inning. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
One out later, Amed Rosario shot a single through the left side for a 1-0 lead and the Yankees were on their way.
Anthony Volpe later added an RBI single before Austin Wells drove in two more on a ground ball off the glove of Lowe at first base to make it 4-0.
An inning that has happened to the Yankees was suddenly happening for them, forcing matters by putting the ball in play and daring the Red Sox to make plays, which they did not.
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Schlittler took care of the rest.
He scattered just five singles and walked none, with the Red Sox never getting past second base. He recorded the most strikeouts by any rookie in franchise postseason history and became the first pitcher in MLB history to throw at least eight scoreless innings and strike out at least 12 without allowing a walk in a playoff game.
It looked like Schlittler might be done after seven innings and 100 pitches, but he came back out for the eighth, which drew a standing ovation. And after he struck out his 12th batter, he got some unbelievable defense from third baseman Ryan McMahon , who flipped over the Red Sox dugout railing after running down a pop-up for the second out.
Red Sox outfielders Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu can't field a RBI single by New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe in the fourth inning JASON SZENES/ NY POST
One pitcher later, his 107th of the night, Schlittler's gem was complete.
"It's definitely a dream to play Boston in the playoffs and end their season," Schlittler said.
And now the Yankees' season continues, with more old business to take care of.
"We've been battling all year long," Aaron Judge said. "We've had our ups, we've had our downs. From the outside, there's a lot of noise about what's going on, but this group never faltered."
