Thursday night was Cam Schlittler’s first time facing the Boston Red Sox — his hometown team — and postseason debut for the New York Yankees. He certainly made the most of it, propelling the Yankees to the ALDS with a historically dominant outing.
Schlittler was phenomenal, essentially replicating Garrett Crochet’s Game 1 masterpiece. The 24-year-old Walpole, MA native silenced the Red Sox’s bats, racking up 12 strikeouts and scattering five hits with no walks over eight shutout innings.
Given the stakes in a winner-take-all game against New York’s top rival, it was an unprecedented performance on par with anything Bob Gibson or Sandy Koufax ever did in October. According to ESPN Insights, Schlittler became the first pitcher in MLB history to go eight scoreless innings with at least 12 strikeouts and no walks in a postseason game.
His command and velocity were exceptional. He threw 75 of his 107 pitches for strikes and reached 98 mph 64 times, blowing Boston away.
During his postgame press conference, all Alex Cora could do was tip his hat to the young righty, who rose to the occasion in the biggest way possible.
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“We needed to be perfect tonight, because (Schlittler) was perfect,” Cora said. “The stuff is outstanding. He was under control. That was electric.”
Alas, the Red Sox were not perfect. They made multiple defensive miscues and failed to generate any offense in the biggest game of the season, getting shut out for the first time since July 19.
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You can’t win if you don’t score, and unfortunately for Boston’s hitters, Schlittler had their number. He’s simply been unstoppable lately, allowing just one run on 10 hits with 27 strikeouts and two walks over his last three starts, looking like a future ace for the Yankees.
Thursday was the Red Sox’s first time facing him, but they’ll be seeing plenty more of him for years to come.
Featured image via Eric Canha/Imagn Images
