The 2026 MLB postseason kicked off with a bang Tuesday, and if you blinked, you might’ve missed the Red Sox’s chances against the New York Yankees. In a best-of-three Wild Card Series Game 1, the Yankees absolutely crushed Boston 9-0, taking a crucial 1-0 series lead. It was a wall-to-wall night of baseball, with the Braves beating the Phillies 5-3 and the White Sox taking down the Astros 6-3, but the Yankees’ shutout performance was the one everyone’s talking about.
Schlittler’s Unanimous Domination
Let’s be real, the undisputed winner of Game 1 was Yankees ace Cam Schlittler. This dude is the presumptive AL Cy Young winner, and honestly, he might just get it unanimously. Why? Because he straight-up owns the Red Sox, his childhood favorite team, no less. In four regular-season starts against Boston this year, he rocked a ridiculous 0.74 ERA and punched out 27 batters in just 24 ⅓ innings. Remember last year? Game 3 of the Wild Card Series, he dealt eight scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts and zero walks. This time around, in Game 1, he was just as dominant, tossing 6 ⅓ scoreless innings, giving up only two hits, walking one, and striking out 10.
But here’s the twist: Schlittler usually leans heavily on his fastballs, right? Four-seamer, cutter, sinker. Not Tuesday. He went curveball-heavy, throwing 32 curves out of 117 pitches. That’s 27% curveballs, way up from his 9.8% regular season usage! He snagged six called strikes and eight whiffs with that breaking ball, completely messing with the Red Sox’s game plan to attack his heater. Sure, he wasn’t quite as efficient as last year, not finishing the seventh, but who cares when the Yankees’ bullpen is “much sturdier” this season?
Red Sox Bats Go Silent
On the flip side, the Red Sox offense was the clear loser, and it wasn’t pretty. Yeah, they faced an absolute monster on the mound, that happens in the playoffs. But after Adley Rutschman singled in the first inning, the team managed only *two* more hits the entire game. Two! They walked once. They struck out 10 times. The first three guys in their lineup combined for a dismal 1 for 9 with six strikeouts.
Roman Anthony, who led off, was supposed to be a breakout star this season. Instead, he spent most of it on the injured list. He returned August 30 and hit .262/.321/.476 in 25 games leading up to the postseason. He even looked like he was heating up in the last week and a half, going 10 for 30 with four doubles, a triple, and a homer. But when it mattered most, against Schlittler, nothing.
With the Yankees up 1-0, the Red Sox need to find *something* at the plate if they want to push this best-of-three Wild Card Series. Game 2 is gonna be massive, no doubt.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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