NEW YORK — Rookie right-hander Cam Schlittler struck out 12 as he shut down Boston with 100 mph heat, and the New York Yankees took advantage of a pair misplays in a four-run fourth inning to beat the Red Sox, 4-0, on Thursday night for a 2-1 AL Wild Card Series win and a Division Series matchup against Toronto.
New York became the first team to lose the opener and advance from the expanded first round, which began in 2022. The Yankees start the best-of-five Division Series on Saturday at the AL East champion Blue Jays.
New York Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler reacts as he walks off the field at the end of the top of the eighth inning of Game 3 of an American League wild-card baseball playoff series against the Boston Red Sox, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
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New York Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler reacts as he walks off the field at the end of the top of the eighth inning of Game 3 of an American League wild-card baseball playoff series against the Boston Red Sox, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
A 24-year-old right-hander who debuted July 9, Schlitter grew up a Red Sox fan in Walpole, Massachusetts, but said he wanted to play for the Yankees. He had pitched against the Red Sox only once before — as a freshman at Northeastern in a 2020 spring training exhibition game.
He outpitched Connelly Early, a 23-year-old left-hander who debuted on Sept. 9 and became Boston’s youngest postseason starting pitcher since 21-year-old Babe Ruth in 1916.
Schlittler struck out two more than any other Yankees pitcher had in his postseason debut, allowing five singles in eight innings and walking none. He threw 11 pitches of 100 mph or higher — including six in the first inning, one more than all Yankees pitchers had combined before previously since pitch tracking started in 2008.
Schlittler threw 75 of 107 pitches for strikes, starting 22 of 29 batters with strikes and topping out at 100.8 mph. David Bednar worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth as the Red Sox failed to advance a runner past second.
Bucky Dent threw out the ceremonial first pitch on the 47th anniversary of his go-ahead, three-run homer for the Yankees at Fenway Park in an AL East tiebreaker game, and the Yankees went on to dominate their longtime rival the way they used to.
New York won its second straight after losing eight of nine postseason meetings with Boston dating to 2004 and edged ahead 14-13 in postseason games between the teams. The Red Sox cost themselves with a defense that committed a big league-high 116 errors during the regular season.
New York’s rally began when Bellinger hit a soft fly into the triangle among center fielder Ceddane Rafaela, right fielder Wilyer Abreu and second baseman Romy González. The ball fell just in front of Rafaela, 234 feet from the plate, as Bellinger hustled into second with a double.
Giancarlo Stanton walked on a full count and with one out Amed Rosario grounded a single into left, just past diving shortstop Trevor Story, to drive in Bellinger with the go-ahead run.
Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s single loaded the bases, and Anthony Volpe hit an 86 mph grounder just past Abreu, who had been shifted toward second, and into right for a RBI single and a 2-0 lead.
After a catcher’s interference call on Omar Narváez was overturned on a video review, Austin Wells hit a potential double-play grounder that first baseman Nathaniel Lowe tried to backhand on an in-between hop. The ball glanced off his glove and into shallow right field as two runs scored.
Yankees third baseman Ryan McMahon made the defensive play of the game when he caught Jarren Duran’s eighth-inning foul pop and somersaulted into Boston’s dugout, then emerged smiling and apparently unhurt.
TIGERS 6, GUARDIANS 3
CLEVELAND (AP) — Dillon Dingler homered in the sixth inning, Wenceel Pérez drove in a pair of runs in a four-run seventh and Detroit defeated Cleveland to advance to the American League Division Series.
It is the second straight season the Tigers have won a Wild Card Series on the road. Detroit heads to Seattle for the Division Series with Game 1 on Saturday.
The AL West champion Mariners, the second seed, took four of the six regular-season meetings from the Tigers, who were the third wild card.
José Ramírez drove in Cleveland’s lone run. The AL Central champion Guardians were 15 1/2 games back in early July before completing the biggest comeback in division or league play in baseball history.
However, they ran out of steam in the best-of-three series as Detroit turned the page after posting the second-worst record in the majors in September (7-17).
The game was tied 1-all with two outs in the sixth inning when Dingler got an elevated changeup from Joey Cantillo on a 1-1 count and drove it 401 feet into the bleachers in left-center to put the Tigers on top.
It was also the first postseason hit and RBI for the Tigers catcher.
Detroit then broke it open in the seventh by sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring four times.
With one out and the bases loaded, Pérez lined a base hit to right off Erik Sabrowski to drive in Javier Báez and Parker Meadows. Hunter Gaddis came in and gave up RBI base hits to Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene, which brought in Kerry Carpenter and Pérez.
Kyle Finnegan got the win, retiring all four batters he faced. Cantillo took the loss.
CUBS 3, PADRES 1
CHICAGO (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong hit an RBI single off a shaky Yu Darvish, and Chicago shut down Fernando Tatis Jr. and San Diego for a clinching victory in Game 3 of their NL Wild Card Series.
Backed by a raucous crowd of 40,895 at Wrigley Field, Chicago used its stellar defense to advance in the postseason for the first time since 2017.
Michael Busch hit a solo homer, and Jameson Taillon pitched four shutout innings before manager Craig Counsell used five relievers to close it out.
After Brad Keller faltered in the ninth — allowing Jackson Merrill’s leadoff homer and hitting two batters — Andrew Kittredge earned the save by retiring Jake Cronenworth on a bouncer to third and Freddy Fermin on a flyball to center.
Next up for Chicago is a matchup with NL Central champion Milwaukee for a compelling NL Division Series, beginning with Game 1 on Saturday.
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