NEW YORK - The Yankees didn’t just grab Game 1 of the Wild Card Series on Tuesday night. They backed Boston into a brutally thin lane, and they did it with the kind of pitching sequence that has defined New York’s season.
Cam Schlittler set the tone at Yankee Stadium, carving through the Red Sox for 6 1/3 scoreless innings in a 9-0 Yankees win. He allowed two hits and one walk, struck out 10, and piled up a career-high 117 pitches before handing the game to the bullpen with a two-run cushion. By the end, Boston had only three hits and 11 strikeouts, and Payton Tolle was tagged with the loss.
The Red Sox’s problems weren’t confined to one night. Their offense has been stuck in September mud for weeks, scoring 71 runs in 24 games during the month, the fewest in MLB at 2.96 per game. Now that same group has to find a way to produce in back-to-back elimination games.
New York didn’t need Aaron Judge to create separation, either. Judge was left off the Wild Card roster because of a right calf strain, but Ben Rice picked up the slack in a huge way, going 4-for-5 with two home runs and six RBIs.
His eighth-inning grand slam helped blow the game open. George Lombard Jr. added three hits and scored twice.
The Yankees also managed to keep their bullpen from taking on too much damage. Paul Blackburn cleaned up Schlittler’s inherited runner with a double play, and New York scored seven runs after the sixth inning. That leaves the Yankees in a strong spot for Game 2, with their preferred starter rested and their relief group largely intact.
Boston’s route gets even steeper because the mound matchup flips directly into Max Fried. The Red Sox will send Sonny Gray, who is 18-5 with a 2.72 ERA, to the hill in Game 2.
New York counters with Fried, who put up a 2.80 ERA across 20 starts and closed the regular season with a 2.09 ERA over his final eight outings. If Boston somehow pushes the series to a third game, Gerrit Cole is lined up next.
The history is unforgiving. Since the current Wild Card Series format began in 2022, teams that win Game 1 have gone on to advance in 15 of 16 series. That’s a 93.8% advancement rate, and while it isn’t a prediction for this matchup by itself, it does show how steep the climb is for Boston.
There is at least one recent reminder that the Red Sox can still make this interesting. Last October, these same teams split the first two games after Boston took Game 1, and the Yankees came back to win the next two. This time, though, the starting-pitching setup has swung the pressure toward New York.
Fried’s Wednesday media session made that clear in a more playful way. Sitting in front of the American League Wild Card backdrop, he wore a dark T-shirt covered in Cam Schlittler wordplay, including “GOOD SCHLITT,” “HOLY SCHLITT,” “TOUGH SCHLITT,” “SCHLITT SHOW” and “SCHLITT HAPPENS.”
The joke landed because Schlittler had just dominated Boston. But it also fit the reality of the series. Fried gets the ball next, and Cole is waiting behind him if needed.
Fried’s own numbers against Boston only sharpen the picture. In his last three outings against the Red Sox - the 2025 Wild Card opener and two regular-season starts in 2026 - he has allowed one earned run in 18 innings for a 0.50 ERA. That stretch includes 6 1/3 scoreless innings in last year’s Wild Card Series, eight shutout innings with nine strikeouts at Fenway Park on April 22, and 3 2/3 innings of one-run ball on Aug. 29 in his return from the injured list.
He arrives in Game 2 healthier, too, after a bone bruise in his left elbow sent him to the injured list twice. His command has come back late in the year, and he said the Yankees’ rotation is driven by more than just the opponent across from them.
“We’re extremely competitive. We just didn’t get here by accident.
We take what we do really seriously. We’re the most supportive to each other, but there’s definitely competition between us,” Fried said.
The bigger picture is even more daunting for Boston. The Yankees finished the regular season with a 3.30 ERA from their starting pitchers, best in the majors, and that number dropped to 3.09 once the full rotation was healthy together. That means the Red Sox aren’t trying to solve one ace; they’re trying to beat two straight front-line starters after getting blanked by a third.
Fried framed that expectation the same way before the series began.
“It starts with starting pitching keeping you in the game,” Fried said. “We take a lot of pride in being able to put our best foot forward, and we have a lot of confidence in all those guys that are going to be able to take the ball.”
Boston still has a path. Gray gives them a legitimate chance in Game 2, and one win forces a winner-take-all game. But the Red Sox also entered Wednesday with another concern: Roman Anthony’s right hand flared up during Game 1, and manager Chad Tracy said after the loss that Anthony’s status for Game 2 was uncertain.
That leaves Boston trying to solve a pitching wall while its offense searches for a spark. The Yankees, meanwhile, have built the exact October sequence they wanted: Schlittler in Game 1, Fried in Game 2, and Cole if the series goes the distance.
Fried’s shirt made it a joke. The matchup makes it a problem.
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