Cam Schlittler silences Red Sox, Ben Rice delivers knockout blow in 9-0 Yankees rout

The Red Sox turned to Payton Tolle to take the ball in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series against the Yankees. Tolle’s larger-than-life personality was highlighted before the game, with The Athletic detailing how the left-hander would blast “Sexy Boy,” former WWE wrestler Shawn Michaels’ entrance theme, in the weight room.

But Cam Schlittler and Ben Rice played the role of the Heartbreak Kids on Tuesday night.

Schlittler once again overwhelmed the Red Sox in October, while Rice homered twice and drove in six runs as the Yankees rolled to a 9-0 win at Yankee Stadium, pushing Boston to the brink of elimination.

For a Red Sox team whose offense had been a concern throughout September, the postseason opener brought more of the same. Boston managed just three hits, did not advance a runner to second base until the eighth inning and was outhit 12-3.

Schlittler set the tone immediately, throwing his first four pitches to Roman Anthony at 100.6, 99.5, 101 and 100.6 mph before finishing the rookie with an 87 mph curveball on a check swing. Adley Rutschman followed with a 10-pitch battle that ended with a single to left, but Boston wouldn’t record another hit until the seventh.

Schlittler struck out Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu to escape the first and finished the inning at 22 pitches. Eleven of his fastballs registered at least 99 mph, including six at 100 mph or harder.

The Yankees broke through against Tolle in the second. George Lombard Jr. singled in his first career postseason at-bat, Anthony Volpe followed with another single and Austin Wells drove home Lombard to make it 1-0.

Tolle settled in from there and repeatedly kept New York from extending the lead. He struck out Rice and Heliot Ramos during a perfect third before escaping another jam in the fourth with help from Caleb Durbin.

With two runners aboard, Durbin made a lunging grab on Spencer Jones’ soft liner and doubled Lombard off second to end the inning.

Tolle had done his part, but unfortunately the Red Sox simply couldn’t solve Schlittler.

After Rutschman’s first-inning single, Schlittler retired 13 consecutive Boston hitters before Jarren Duran drew a two-out walk in the fifth. He piled up eight strikeouts and 18 swings-and-misses through four innings, overpowering a lineup that entered October searching for answers offensively. 

Then came Chad Tracy’s first significant pitching decision as a postseason manager.

Tolle retired Wells and Paul Goldschmidt to begin the fifth before Tracy went to left-hander Erik Miller with two outs and nobody on, choosing not to let the rookie face Rice for a third time.

The move immediately backfired after Rice jumped on a 96.8 mph sinker that stayed up in the zone and crushed it to dead center, extending New York’s lead to 2-0. Tolle’s postseason debut ended after 4 2/3 innings, allowing one run on five hits and one walk while striking out four. 

Schlittler was dominant again on the mound against the Red Sox. The Walpole native finished with 24 swings-and-misses while allowing two hits and one walk with 10 strikeouts over 6 1/3 scoreless innings. Even after reaching 107 pitches through six, Schlittler returned for the seventh, retired Contreras and allowed a single to Abreu before finally giving way to the Yankees bullpen.

It was the latest dominant postseason performance against his hometown team. In two playoff starts against Boston over the past 12 months, Schlittler has thrown 14 1/3 scoreless innings with 22 strikeouts.

Boston’s night may have gotten worse in the process. Anthony was removed after two at-bats, both strikeouts, with Andruw Monasterio pinch-hitting for him in the sixth. The Red Sox did not immediately announce a reason for Anthony’s departure.

The game remained within reach at 2-0 entering the bottom of the seventh, but Tracy again bypassed some of his more established bullpen options and handed the ball to rookie Alec Gamboa.

Gamboa faced four batters and all four reached.

Jones and Wells opened the inning with consecutive singles before Goldschmidt walked to load the bases. Rice drove home another run with a single, and Tracy turned to Wyatt Olds with the bases still loaded and nobody out. Luis García Jr. followed with a grounder up the middle that Nick Sogard turned into an impressive double play, but another run scored to make it 4-0. 

Boston finally put a runner in scoring position in the eighth when Trevor Story ripped a two-out double down the left-field line. Durbin flew out to center, leaving Story stranded and the Red Sox scoreless.

The Yankees then turned the game into a rout after Lombard collected his third hit of the night and Ryan McMahon walked before Volpe’s sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position. Jones walked to load the bases, and Wells’ sacrifice fly stretched the lead to 5-0. Tracy went back to the bullpen and to Brayan Bello, but he only added to the problems. 

After Bello walked Goldschmidt to reload the bases, Rice supplied the knockout blow, launching a grand slam to complete a 4-for-5 night with two homers and six RBI.

What had been a 1-0 game into the fifth and a 2-0 game entering the seventh ended as a nine-run blowout.

The Red Sox now face a much simpler reality Wednesday night; they either win or go home.

Sonny Gray, who went 18-5 with a 2.72 ERA during the regular season, will face his former team with Boston’s season on the line. The Yankees will counter with left-hander Max Fried, who went 5-5 with a 2.80 ERA.

Boston saw Fried in this spot a year ago. He threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings against the Red Sox during last season’s Wild Card Series. First pitch for Game 2 is scheduled for 8 p.m. on NBC and Peacock.