The Yankees could not have drawn up a much better start to their postseason.
Behind a dominant outing from Cam Schlittler and a historic night at the plate from Ben Rice, New York opened the American League Wild Card Series with a 9-0 win over the Red Sox on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, moving one victory away from advancing.
Schlittler completely overwhelmed Boston over 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out 10. Rice handled nearly everything else, going 4-for-5 with a double, two home runs and six RBIs, capped by an eighth-inning grand slam that turned an already convincing win into a rout.
The two Massachusetts natives spent the night making life miserable for the team from back home, but this was more than a two-man show. The bottom half of the Yankees’ lineup repeatedly created traffic, George Lombard Jr. looked completely unfazed in his postseason debut and several of the youngest players on the roster played a major role in getting New York started.
Schlittler’s Red Sox Dominance Continues
Boston has now seen Schlittler six times in his young career, including twice in the postseason, and still has not come close to solving him.
The right-hander attacked from the opening inning, striking out three of the first four hitters he faced. He continued piling up swings and misses from there, reaching double-digit strikeouts before leaving with one out in the seventh.
Across his six career starts against the Red Sox, Schlittler now owns a 0.47 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 49 strikeouts over 38 2/3 innings, allowing only two earned runs.
Those numbers would be impressive against anyone. Doing it repeatedly against a division rival, and now doing it under postseason pressure, is another level entirely.
The Red Sox managed just two hits against him Tuesday and never seriously threatened to change the game. When Schlittler exited after allowing a one-out single in the seventh, Paul Blackburn immediately induced an inning-ending double play to preserve the shutout.
Rice Makes Yankees Postseason History
While Schlittler shut Boston down, Rice gradually made sure the Yankees had plenty of breathing room.
He doubled in the first inning, then broke through with his first home run of the postseason in the fifth, sending a solo shot to center field to give New York a 2-0 lead.
Rice added an RBI single in the seventh before delivering the swing that ended any remaining doubt in the eighth.
With two outs and the bases loaded, Rice drove a Brayan Bello pitch over the center-field wall for a grand slam, extending the Yankees’ lead to 9-0 and sending Yankee Stadium into a frenzy.
His six RBIs tied the Yankees’ franchise record for a postseason game, putting him alongside Bobby Richardson, Bernie Williams, Robinson Canó and Hideki Matsui.
For a lineup built around star power, Rice has increasingly looked like one of the most dangerous bats in it. On Tuesday night, he was unquestionably the biggest one.
The Kids Get Things Started
The Yankees’ first run came from the part of the order that may have been the most encouraging development of the night.
Lombard opened the second inning with a single in his first postseason plate appearance. Anthony Volpe followed with another single, and Austin Wells drove Lombard home with a sharp base hit to right to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.
At 21 years and 119 days old, Lombard became the youngest player to start a postseason game for the Yankees since Mickey Mantle in 1952, and he played like the stage barely registered.
He finished with three hits and scored three runs, including another in the eighth after leading off the inning with a single. Volpe later moved Lombard and Ryan McMahon over with a sacrifice bunt before Wells drove Lombard home again with a sacrifice fly.
There was also something noteworthy about seeing Lombard and Volpe together in the middle of the Yankees’ infield.
For much of Lombard’s rise through the organization, the conversation centered on whether he might eventually challenge Volpe for shortstop. Tuesday offered a glimpse at a different possibility. Lombard handled shortstop, Volpe worked at second base, and the two combined on the double play that ended the seventh.
The players once viewed as potential competitors for the same position suddenly look like they could form the Yankees’ middle infield for years to come.
Game 2 Preview
The Yankees will have an opportunity to close out the series in Game 2, with Max Fried set to take the ball opposite former Yankee Sonny Gray.
Gray’s return to the Bronx comes with an added layer after comments he made following his move to Boston. Discussing his previous Yankees tenure, Gray said he “never wanted to go there in the first place,” while also embracing the rivalry by saying it was “easy to hate the Yankees.”
Now he will start at Yankee Stadium with Boston’s season potentially on the line.
Gray finished the regular season 18-5 with a 2.72 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 149 strikeouts in 169 innings.
Fried, whose season was shortened by injury, finished 5-5 with a 2.80 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 104 strikeouts over 112 2/3 innings.
After Schlittler and Rice gave the Yankees nearly everything they could have asked for in Game 1, New York now needs one more win to send Boston home.
