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Two rookie starters made their postseason debut in the Bronx on Thursday night, but only one made MLB history in the end.
New York Yankees flamethrower Cam Schlittler didn’t just deliver the performance the home team needed to reach the ALDS, but one Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora called “perfect.”
Schlittler threw eight scoreless innings, striking out 12 hitters without any walks in the Yankees’ 4-0 victory to secure Game 3 to win the Wild Card series.
Schlitter, who let up five scattered hits, is the first player in MLB Postseason history to go eight scoreless innings with 12-plus strikeouts and no walks. He threw 107 pitches after manager Aaron Boone allowed him to go in the eighth inning after throwing his 100th pitch to end the seventh inning.
Meanwhile, the Yankees were trying to get after Red Sox rookie left-hander Connelly Early, a 23-year-old who thrived in four regular-season starts. While Schlittler started off strong, Early was matching his energy, striking out five Yankees through his first round of the lineup.
But the bottom of the fourth inning is where the wheels fell off for Early after Cody Bellinger’s bloop hit to short center field resulted in a double after Ceddanne Rafaela’s diving attempt didn’t work out.
After Giancarlo Stanton walked and Ben Rice struck out, Amed Rosario, who was in the game for the lefty-righty matchup against Early, came through with an RBI single to get the Yankees on the board first.
The hit train came after that as Jazz Chisholm Jr. loaded the bases with a single and Anthony Volpe hit a single to make it 2-0. Then, Austin Wells broke the game open after his sharply hit ball to first base resulted in a Nathaniel Lowe error that scored two runs.
With a four-run lead, the Yankees leaned on Schlittler to continue to stifle the Red Sox’s offense and he did just that. Schlittler cruised through eight innings until David Bednar closed the door in the ninth inning.
With the victory in the win-or-go-home matchup, the Yankees will now head to Toronto to face the Blue Jays, who held on to the AL East title at the end of the regular season.
Game 1 of the ALDS will be on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. ET.
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