NEW YORK – (Wire Service Preview) – While Cam Schlittler’s first full season with the New York Yankees was among the best in team history, Payton Tolle delivered a strong rookie campaign for the Boston Red Sox.
Both starting pitchers did more than enough to earn their teams’ trust for Game 1 of the best-of-three wild-card series that begins Tuesday night.
After the intense Schlittler starts for the Yankees, Max Fried has been tabbed for Game 2 followed by Gerrit Cole if Game 3 is necessary. Sonny Gray follows the easygoing Tolle for the Red Sox, who will turn to Ranger Suarez in Game 3 if needed.
Schlittler, 25, won Game 3 in last year’s wild-card series against the Red Sox by striking out 12 in eight dominant innings as New York advanced with a 4-0 victory. He did enough in 14 starts over the final two months of last season to be entrusted with that start after Clarke Schmidt needed elbow surgery.
This season, Schlittler was an important part of the rotation from the start and the Walpole, Mass. native ranks as the prohibitive favorite to win the American League’s Cy Young Award after going 14-6 with a 1.95 ERA and 239 strikeouts in 33 starts.
“It’s special,” Schlittler said. “Being able to get that experience last year in Game 3, it’s a good feeling to go out there and get the first one.”
Schlittler tied Dylan Cease for the AL’s second-most strikeouts. He joined Cole (2.63 in 2023) as the only Yankees to lead the AL in ERA since 1980.
Schlittler also held hitters to a .185 average and ended the season by going 6-1 with a 1.81 ERA in his final 15 starts that spanned 89 2/3 innings.
“We obviously love his makeup,” manager Aaron Boone said Monday. “He’s obviously super-talented and really skilled, but he’s also mentally really tough and able to focus and it seems like the bigger the game, the better he seems to be here in his young career.”
Schlittler also thrived against the Red Sox, who had the pick before the Yankees selected the right-hander in the seventh round of the 2022 draft. Schlittler went 2-1 with a 0.74 ERA in four starts against Boston this year. In those games, he struck out 27 in 24 1/3 innings while holding hitters to a .174 average.
“You’ve got to rely on your strengths,” Schlittler said. “At the same time, you got to see what adjustments they make and kind of just go from there.”
Tolle, 23, didn’t get to make as big of an impact as Schlittler last year. After making three starts and four relief appearances during the regular season, he got to face just one batter in the playoffs — and the lefty retired Trent Grisham for the final out of the eighth inning in Game 2.
This season, he debuted by striking out 11 in six innings against the Yankees during a no-decision on April 23. He stayed in the rotation the rest of the year and posted a 9-6 record with a 3.03 ERA.
Tolle was fourth among qualified AL rookies in ERA and second behind Cleveland’s Parker Messick with 171 strikeouts. He notched 97 of those strikeouts while going 5-0 with a 2.66 ERA over his final 13 starts, as the Red Sox recovered from a 32-46 start by winning 32 of 37 games, including a 15-game winning streak in July.
“When he’s starting, you’re not as much worried about who’s in the lineup, you trust him either way,” Boston manager Chad Tracy said. “I just feel like we’re pretty confident in who he is as a pitcher and what he brings to the table regardless of who he’s facing as far as difficulty to hit. That’s what we felt like was best.”
Tolle was 1-0 with a 0.69 ERA in two starts against the Yankees — both at Fenway Park. New York was 4-for-43 with 18 strikeouts in their two encounters with Tolle, who held hitters to a .222 average overall.
“It means a lot,” Tolle said. “I think it’s something that you work for for a long time. To be able to get this opportunity is really special. To be able to go out there and try to set the tone as best I can is really special.”
Both pitchers could face lineups missing prominent bats, as Aaron Judge and Willson Contreras are question marks with injuries. The teams must lock in their rosters by the 10 a.m. EDT deadline on Tuesday.
Judge missed the final 10 games with a strained right calf that Boone said was moderate last week. During Sunday’s rainout, he hit and did some throwing indoors. During Monday’s workout, he took batting practice on the field.
The Yankees were 41-25 in games Judge played and 52-43 in games he missed.
Contreras was hit on the hand Sept. 17 and did not return until getting two at-bats in Sunday’s regular-season finale. Tracy seemed to think the first baseman would be on the roster.
– Field Level Media