The New York Yankees have done it again, and this time, it was a rookie from just down the road in Massachusetts who stole the show. In a high-stakes Game 3 of the American League wild card series at Yankee Stadium, 24-year-old right-hander Cam Schlittler delivered a performance for the ages, mowing down the Boston Red Sox lineup and writing his name into Yankees postseason lore. For Red Sox fans, the night was a bitter pill to swallow—a combination of missing bats, untimely injuries, and a Yankees team that simply refused to give in after dropping Game 1.
Schlittler, who grew up just 30 minutes from Boston in Walpole, Massachusetts, was given the ball by Yankees manager Aaron Boone with the season on the line. Boone’s confidence in his rookie was evident from the start, and it paid off spectacularly. The young pitcher threw a career-high 107 pitches, 75 of them for strikes, and struck out 12 batters—setting a new record for the most strikeouts by a Yankees rookie pitcher in a postseason game. It was a night where everything seemed to click for the Yankees, while Boston’s offense sputtered and failed to find its rhythm.
"What a performance," Boone said after the game, barely able to contain his excitement. "When you throw 100 and command the baseball and can land your secondary pitches, you can be a problem for the opposition. So that's what he is capable of. And obviously efficient enough to get through eight innings there, and I mean, just ... I am not surprised, honestly." Boone’s words captured the sentiment in the Yankees dugout—a sense that the moment, no matter how big, was never too much for Schlittler.
Schlittler’s dominance was on full display throughout the night. His fastball reached 100 mph or higher on eleven pitches, and he kept the Boston hitters off balance with high-velocity secondary offerings. For the Red Sox, it was a frustrating repeat of a familiar story: an inability to generate offense when it mattered most. Fans had already been grumbling online about the lack of firepower, especially with key bats like Roman Anthony and Rafael Devers absent or underperforming. The failure to add a power hitter at the trade deadline loomed large, and the absence of Triston Casas—a left-handed slugger with a Rookie of the Year pedigree—was felt acutely.
Casas, who had shown flashes of brilliance in 2023 and early 2024, had been sidelined with injuries just as he was starting to heat up again this season. His blend of power and plate discipline, plus his steady glove at first base, might have changed the equation for Boston. As one Red Sox observer put it, "A healthy Triston Casas could provide a ton of offensive assistance next year, plus decent first-base defense." There’s hope in Boston that Casas, still young and full of potential, will remain a cornerstone for the team’s future—provided the front office resists the urge to move on from him in search of a more durable bat.
But on this night, the spotlight belonged to Schlittler and a Yankees squad that played nearly flawless baseball. The turning point came in the fourth inning, when New York sent ten batters to the plate and erupted for four runs. That outburst proved decisive, giving Schlittler all the cushion he would need. The Yankees’ defense was sharp, too, committing only two errors across the three-game series—a marked improvement from their regular season, which saw them rack up 94 miscues.
One play in particular had everyone talking: Ryan McMahon’s fearless catch near the Red Sox dugout in the eighth inning. With Romy Gonzalez already sent packing on strikes to start the frame, Jarren Duran popped up a 96-mph cutter toward the third base side. McMahon raced over, snagged the ball, and tumbled over the dugout railing, sending a jolt of energy through the stadium. "Yeah, that was amazing," Schlittler said of McMahon’s effort. "I was just hoping he wasn't hurt. Everybody running over there to check on him. Again, obviously the momentum was on our side, and he just kind of kept it going."
Schlittler’s night ended after he retired Trevor Story on a weak grounder to shortstop, completing eight masterful innings. It was the first time in his professional career that he had surpassed ten strikeouts in a single outing—a feat he’d only accomplished in college until now. Reflecting on his achievement, Schlittler said, "That's something I did in college, but in my professional career, that's not something I was able to get over that hump. I would get nine a lot. I didn't always throw 100. So, once I got up here, it was something I was able to make an adjustment on. Even here I couldn't get to 10 (strikeouts). Obviously that's not the goal, is getting the most strikeouts, but it is a good feeling to be able to go out there and dominate a lineup."
The Yankees’ resilience was on full display in this series. They became the first team since the three-team wild card format began to lose Game 1 and come back to win the series. Boone’s decision to stick with Schlittler into the eighth inning, even after he’d thrown 100 pitches, was a testament to the trust he had in his rookie. "I was going to go hitter to hitter with him. I trusted his ability to fill up the zone," Boone explained. "Obviously, I had Devin (Williams) ready behind him in the eighth if anything got away, but he ends up having a really quick inning. He seemed good to me. It is a little bit of unchartered territory for him. I don't think he has ever gone that deep. No, he seemed in control to me."
For Schlittler, the victory was more than just a personal triumph. Facing his hometown team, he admitted, carried extra motivation. "It’s personal for me playing Boston," he said. "I was locked in. I trusted the guys to back me up there and they did. People from Boston had a lot to say before the game. For me, just being a silent killer and being able to go out there and shut them down. I didn’t like some of the things they said today. I’m not going to get into it, but there’s a line I think they crossed a little bit. Again, I’m a competitor and I’m going to go out there and make sure I shut them down. They just picked the wrong guy to do it to. And the wrong team to do it to."
As the Yankees now prepare to face the Toronto Blue Jays in the Division Series, the Red Sox are left to reflect on a season of missed opportunities and what-ifs. The absence of offensive firepower, compounded by injuries to key players like Casas, ultimately proved too much to overcome. For New York, the night belonged to a rookie who grew up in Red Sox country but etched his legend in pinstripes. The road ahead promises more drama, but for now, Yankees fans can savor a win that was as much about grit as it was about talent.