NEW YORK — Cam Schlittler fanned 10 in 6 1/3 dominant innings while Ben Rice homered twice and drove in six runs as the New York Yankees pulled away for a 9-0 rout of the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of an American League wild-card series on Tuesday night.
The Yankees can close out the best-of-three series on Wednesday when Max Fried pitches. Sonny Gray will try to extend Boston’s season to Game 3 on Thursday.
Nearly a year after fanning 12 and allowing five hits in eight scoreless innings in Game 3 of last year’s wild-card series, Schlittler (1-0) was equally as sharp in his third career postseason start to help the Yankees get the upper hand.
Schlittler allowed just three baserunners, two singles and a walk. His 117 pitches were not only a career high but the most by a Yankee in a postseason game since CC Sabathia threw a 121-pitch complete game in Game 5 of the 2012 AL Division Series against the Baltimore Orioles.
Schlittler threw 77 pitches for strikes while going up against the team he grew up rooting for in Walpole, Mass.
A native of Cohasset, Mass., Rice hit a solo homer for a 2-0 lead in the fifth off left-handed reliever Erik Miller and added an RBI single in the seventh. He capped a five-run eighth by launching a grand slam off Brayan Bello over the right-center-field fence.
Rice went 4-for-5 and had New York’s first four-hit postseason game since Gleyber Torres accomplished the feat in Game 1 of the 2020 wild-card series at Cleveland.
Catcher Austin Wells helped Schlittler by winning an ABS challenge on Wilyer Abreu for a called third strike to end the first inning and hit an RBI single with two on in the second against Boston starter Payton Tolle.
Rookie George Lombard Jr. had three hits and two runs.
Tolle allowed one run on five hits in 4 2/3 innings. The left-hander struck out four, walked one and threw 58 of 83 pitches for strikes.
Paul Blackburn (1 2/3 innings) and John Schreiber (one inning) finished the Yankees’ three-hitter.
