NEW YORK (AP) Back in Boston, it was the two of them who escaped.
Cam Schlittler pitched another playoff gem against the Boston Red Sox, and Ben Rice also burned their hometown team with a late grand slam and six RBIs as the New York Yankees opened this Wild Card Series rematch with a 9-0 victory Tuesday night.
With the Yankees without star slugger Aaron Judge due to a calf injury, Rice homered twice, doubled and had four hits to power the offense. Schlittler, a clear favorite for the AL Cy Young award, struck out 10 in a dominant performance reminiscent of the one that ended Boston’s season last year.
Rice and Schlittler both grew up Red Sox fans in Massachusetts and went to college in New England before being plucked by the Yankees from the Boston backyard in baseball’s amateur draft.
“Pretty remarkable,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “Obviously, it’s been a story for a few years now. For them to come out and have that kind of night together to start these playoffs, it’s pretty incredible and a little hard to understand, frankly, but I’m certainly glad we have these two.”
Rice was actually a Yankees fan growing up outside of Boston.
“Wearing the Yankees jersey on freshman picture day probably resulted in some strange looks,” he said.
“It definitely adds a nice little layer, and for Cam too. It’s always fun to play against them. And to have a solid match against them is pretty cool.”
No. 9 hitter Austin Wells drove in two runs and 21-year-old rookie George Lombard Jr. had three hits for New York in his postseason debut.
Schlittler, who led the American League with a 1.95 ERA, allowed just two singles and a walk in 6 1/3 innings without letting a runner reach second base. He threw 117 pitches — 10 more than his previous career high and the most by a Yankees starter in the postseason since Hall of Fame left-hander CC Sabathia threw 121 in the 2012 AL Division Series against Baltimore.
“I got a little greedy,” Boone said.
The major league record this season was 120 by Dylan Cease for Toronto in Boston in July.
Schlittler, 25, struck out 13 straight batters before a two-out walk in the fifth, leading to several chants of “MVP!” MVP! from the sellout crowd of 48,437 in the Bronx. He left the mound to a standing ovation after giving up a one-out single in the seventh, and Paul Blackburn quickly got Ceddanne Rafaela to ground into an inning-ending double play that preserved a 2-0 lead.
New York beat Boston 12-3 in the fifth playoff shutout since 2002 for the Yankees, who led the majors in ERA this year for the first time since 1957.
Game 2 of the best-of-three series at Yankee Stadium is Wednesday night, when a victory would send New York into a best-of-five division series against AL East champion Tampa Bay.
Entering this postseason, Game 1 winners had advanced to the best 16 of the three Wild Card Series 15 times since the format was implemented in 2022. The only exception was the Red Sox last year.
Boston and New York have split six previous playoff games. The Yankees won last year’s Wild Card Series between their longtime rivals thanks to Schlittler’s dominant performance in Game 3, when the rookie struck out 12 in eight innings in a 4-0 win.
Schlittler said he was the victim of online abuse before some of his outings against Boston. He used it as motivation.
The right-hander is 4-1 with a 0.47 ERA and 49 strikeouts in six career starts against the Red Sox – including the postseason.
“It’s well known that if you want to become a legend, which is obviously the goal, you have to do it in the playoffs,” Schlittler said.
Rice gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead with a 423-foot solo homer into Monument Park in center field immediately on the third pitch from left-handed reliever Erik Miller, who replaced Payton Tolle with two outs in the fifth after the rookie starter had thrown 83 pitches.
Rice, 27, added a single with the bases loaded in the seventh and a grand slam to right center that capped a five-run eighth.
The 16th slam in Yankees postseason history gave Rice six RBIs, tying the franchise record for a postseason game made by four other players.
Rice also homered in Game 2 of last year’s Wild Card Series. He led New York with 41 home runs, 97 RBIs and an .897 OPS this year in his third major league season.
“I’ll remember getting a W against the Red Sox. There’s nothing better than that,” Rice said. “I’ll remember Cam coming out and turning out the lights, like he always does. I’ll remember the atmosphere. It was just a great night. A great way to kick off the show.”
Red Sox RHP Sonny Gray (18-5, 2.72 ERA) faces one of his former teams Wednesday night when he makes his seventh postseason start and first since 2023 with Minnesota.
LHP Max Fried (5-5, 2.80 ERA) pitches for New York. The three-time All-Star was limited to 20 starts this season due to two stints on the injured list with a bruised left elbow. He pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series last year.
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