Rice, Schlittler power the Yankees to 9-0 Game 1 victory

The Yankees dismantled the Red Sox 9-0 to take Game 1 of the Wild Card Series. Cam Schlittler got the starting nod for the Yankees and faced off against Payton Tolle.

“It's very well known that if you want to be a legend, which is obviously the goal, you've got to do it in the postseason,” Schlittler said. “Go out there and have dominant starts and put the team in the position to win.”

Schlittler worked around a one-out single as he struck out the side in the top half of the first inning, thanks to a successful ABS challenge from Austin Wells. 

With one out in the bottom half of the first, Ben Rice ripped a double into the right-center gap. However, Heliot Ramos struck out, and Cody Bellinger lined out to end the inning. 

Schlittler worked a nice and easy 1-2-3 top half of the second inning and notched his fourth strikeout. 

George Lombard Jr. led off the bottom of the second inning with a bloop single into center field. Then with one out, Anthony Volpe singled into left-center field to put runners on first and second. Then, with two outs, Wells came through with an RBI single to right field to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. 

“I mean, George and Volpe had great at-bats before me, so they set the tone there, allowed me to be up there,” Wells said. “Obviously, just trying to get the ball there and play and find some grass, move the lineup over. I know I got Goldy behind me, one of the best hitters versus lefties in the game, so that's all I was trying to do and was able to execute.”

In the top of the third, Schlittler retired the side in order and recorded two more strikeouts to work a shutdown inning. 

Schlittler worked a 1-2-3 top half of the fourth inning and picked up two more strikeouts, bringing his total to eight for the night. 

Lombard led off the bottom of the fourth inning with an infield single; Amed Rosario followed with a walk thanks to a successful ABS challenge. But Volpe popped out, and Spencer Jones lined into a double play to strand both runners. 

Schlittler walked a batter with two outs in the top of the fifth inning, but picked up a flyout to work a scoreless frame. 

With two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, Rice blasted a solo home run to straightaway center field into Monument Park. 

Schlittler retired the Red Sox in order in the top of the sixth to work a shutdown inning and notched two more strikeouts, bringing his total to 10 for the night. 

With a season-high 107 pitches, Schlittler came back out for the top of the seventh inning and picked up the first out, then allowed a single to end his night after 117 pitches. Schlittler walked off the mound to a standing ovation and MVP chants as Paul Blackburn took over and induced an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play. 

“We've already got an MVP in this locker room (Aaron Judge); he's won three of them,” Schlittler said. “It's a good feeling; I wouldn't say I am an MVP, but it's good to embrace that from the fans.”

Final line for Schlittler: 6.1 shutout innings, two hits allowed, walked one, and struck out 10 on 117 pitches. He threw his fastball 56% of the time, the curveball 27%, the sinker 9%, and the cutter 8%. Schlittler topped out at 101 mph, sitting at 98.6 mph on his heater, and had 24 whiffs. 

“The natural adrenaline, just the environment and how loud it was, I think definitely helped,” Schlittler said. “So, just being able to lean on that and the curveball felt good. I was able to get that in the zone, get the miss below the zone as well. And I feel like there wasn't really an adjustment there.”

Jones and Wells kicked off the bottom of the seventh inning with a pair of line drive singles into right field. Paul Goldschmidt followed with a nine-pitch walk to load the bases with nobody out. Rice lined an RBI single into right field to make it 3-0. Luis Garcia Jr. pinch-hit for Ramos and was robbed of a single, grounding into a double play, but another run did score to make it 4-0. 

Blackburn came back out for the top of the eighth and allowed a two-out double as the Red Sox finally were able to get a runner into scoring position. But Blackburn induced a flyout to work a shutdown inning. 

Lombard led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a bullet single off the wall in right-center field, his third hit of the night. Ryan McMahon followed with a walk, then Volpe laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, putting two runners in scoring position with one out. The next batter, Jones worked a walk to load the bases. Wells made it 5-0 thanks to a sacrifice fly just in front of the warning track in right field. Rice then broke the game wide open with a grand slam into the Yankees bullpen, giving a four-hit and six-RBI night, making it 9-0. 

“I mean, off the bat, I mean, wow, I think it's gonna go out, and I hope it's gonna go,” Rice said. “I mean, just thrilled that I left the yard, and we got four more runs across there for us to save the bullpen a little bit.”

John Schreiber got the call for the top of the ninth inning and retired the side in order to give the Yankees a dominant Game 1 win. 

“I mean, always always good to be in control,” Wells said. “So last year we were down one, and we're able to come back and win the next two. But definitely feels good to be in the driver's seat and get a win like that.”

The Yankees will look to put an end to the Red Sox season tomorrow with Max Fried on the mound facing off against former Yankee Sonny Gray. First pitch is slated for 8 p.m. ET on NBC. 

My thoughts on the game: You couldn't have scripted a much better start to this series than tonight. The job's still far from finished; the Yankees obviously still need one more win to move on to the ALDS, but this was a great start. Schlittler is just unreal. I have run out of superlatives to describe him, as he had a career-high 117 pitches in 6.1 shutout innings. He is an old-school ace; you dont see pitchers throw well over 100 pitches very often anymore. The most pitches thrown by a Yankee in a playoff game since Game 5 of the ALDS, when CC Sabathia threw 121 pitches. Blackburn picked up five big outs; he has been awesome this season. Schreiber did a good job in saving the rest of the bullpen; he has been a solid pickup for the Yankees. Rice had an unbelievable night at the plate with four hits, two homers, and six RBIs, finishing a triple shy of the cycle. Lombard had three hits in his postseason debut, becoming the second-youngest player in MLB history to record three hits in the postseason at just 21 years old. Wells also had a couple of hits and two RBIs. Just a great night from the offense all around, with nine runs and 12 hits. On to tomorrow, as the Yankees will look to finish off the sweep.