From Bryan Hoch:
Cam Schlittler didn’t need extra motivation to elevate his first October test, but the Yankees rookie received it anyway – and the Red Sox wound up paying the price.
Having absorbed ugly online chirps from Red Sox Nation, the Walpole, Mass., native admitted the barbs made the night “personal for me.” He transformed them into fuel for a dazzling, history-making performance, striking out 12 across eight scoreless innings in a 4-0 victory in Thursday’s decisive Game 3 of the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium.
“People from Boston had a lot to say before the game,” Schlittler said. “For me, just being a silent killer, being able to go out there and shut them down. … I’m from Boston. I didn’t like some of the things they were saying today. I was just making sure I was going out there and extra locked in.”
Schlittler declined to reveal specifics – “I’m not going to get into it,” he said – but he did say it came from fans, not players.
“There’s a line I think they crossed a little bit,” Schlittler said. “I’m a competitor. I’m going to go out there and make sure I shut them down. You know Boston fans. It’s just how it is. We’re aggressive back home and we’re gonna try and get under peoples’ skin. They just picked the wrong guy to do it to – and the wrong team to do it to as well.”
Here is a case where a featured image says a thousand words, as this shot is of the moment when Yankee Stadium was the loudest it has been in the playoffs, and it was for Cam Schlittler COMING BACK on to the mound in the eighth inning, as the fans realized that Aaron Boone was sticking with his young rookie for the 8th inning. Amazing stuff.
Schlittler was just dominant tonight. As I noted in a comment, nothing is going to beat Roger Clemens’ performance against Seattle in 2000 (where he threw a complete game shutout with 15 strikeouts, two walks, and one hit against a lineup with Alex Rodgriguez and Edgar Martinez batting #3/4) in terms of dominant Yankees pitching performances in the postseason that I’ve seen, but the fact that Schlittler was even in the same ballpark as that game by Clemens is amazing, especially since Clemens was a five-time Cy Young winner at the time (while also having one of the most embarrassing robbed Cy Young in 1990, because Bob Welch had a fluky amount of wins for a great Athletics team), and Schlittler is, you know, a 24-year-old rookie.
It’s kind of weird how aggro Schlittler is being with Red Sox fans (after the game, he later posted on social media, “Drinking dat dirty water”), but hey, whatever floats your boat, dude. If it helps you concentrate on throwing strikes, go for it.
Connolly Early, meanwhile, also pitched outstanding baseball, and Alex Cora did a great job, I though, with sticking with HIS young pitcher even as the game got away from him due to bad defense from Nathaniel Lowe. By the way, Early got fucked by his defenders to be sure, but even if Rafaela catches Belli’s flyball, the next five batters were a walk, a strikeout, and then THREE singles, and while Wells’ ball shouldn’t have been a two-run error, of course, it was also hit over 100 MPH, so it wasn’t like some easy play. I could even argue that it should have been ruled a hit, due to how hard it was hit. So yes, Early got fucked by the defense behind him, but he also would have given up runs in that inning no matter what. But yes, he also pitched very well, and Boston should be pumped about him.
Hopefully for the Yankees’ future chances, the Red Sox don’t spend a lot of money this offseason, as they have a good, young team (Crochet and Brayan Bello are both just 26 years old!!!), and with some savvy free agency moves, they could be a tough team next year. Then again, as I have noted for a while now, the 2026 Yankees will have Cole, Fried, Rodon, and Schlittler at the top of their rotation, with Luis Gil as their FIFTH starter, Will Warren to pitch multiple innings in relief, and Clarke Schmidt returning at the All-Star break. So, well, you know, 2026 looks bright for a few different teams (imagine if Lombard could do anything).
But in the short term, just enjoy the fuck out of this win. The Red Sox had beaten the Yankees in three straight postseason series (that said, we’re talking 2004, 2018, and 2021, so it is kind of hard to take it too seriously as a “streak” when it’s spread out like that, and when it is only three series), so it was nice to get the best of them for a change.
As an aside, Giancarlo Stanton fucked up in the second inning, admiring a drive that he thought was a home run, but only hit off of the fence, and was only barely able to make it to second for a double (to be fair, it’s not like Stanton would have reached third either way, so no harm no foul), and after the game he hilariously (and drunkenly, it appeared) told viewers, “Kids at home, don’t do that. Future opponents, please do that. Bonehead play.” Nice to see some personality from Big G (and also nice to see him hit a ball hard in the series. Hopefully it bodes well for the ALDS).
Toronto looms, as the Yankees try to reverse their regular season records against another AL East rival.