Cam Schlittler Is A Tough Game 1 Test, But Count the Red Sox Out At Your Own Peril

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The Boston Red Sox have drawn a tough match in the American League Wild Card Round after the New York Yankees announced that AL Cy Young favorite Cam Schlittler is going to take the mound in Game 1. It’s going to be a tall task for the visitors to go in and steal game one, but that’s something this team hasn’t shied away from at any point during the 2026 season.

Some would point to Game 3 of last year’s Wild Card Series as Schlittler’s coming out party. To put it succinctly, he absolutely shoved in that start. He tossed eight innings while allowing zero runs, five hits, no walks, and 12 strikeouts. You can say what you want about the state of that Red Sox offense, but the facts are that Schlittler was untouchable on the mound for that game. He's since continued that dominance into the 2026 season

The Sox first saw Schlittler this season all the way back on April 23, just two days before the organization decided to move on from Alex Cora. The Yankees took that game by a score of 4-2. When we look at the line from Schlittler in that game, it’s not hard to assume that it had a direct impact in the decision to move on from Cora; he once again tossed eight innings in the outing, allowing four hits, one walk, one earned run, and five strikeouts. He allowed one home run in the game, to Carlos Narvaez who will be watching the postseason from his couch in Baltimore. The other RBI on the night? Courtesy of Marcelo Mayer, who will be enjoying an early offseason in San Francisco. Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu had the other two hits for the Sox, so there’s a positive for guys who are still on the active roster.

The next time the Sox saw Schlittler was on June 7, and while it was a shorter outing (lasting only 5.2 innings), it was more of the same in the long run. The Sox could only muster up one run for the whole game, when Willson Contreras drove in Ceddanne Rafaela. The center fielder was alone with two hits in the game while Contreras, Mickey Gasper, Anthony Seigler, and Andruw Monasterio all contributed one hit each on the day.

Schlittler faced the Sox for the third time this season on June 25, when he was chased out of the game after only five innings, but he still struck out nine while allowing zero earned runs. That stat line looks a bit funky though, as four runs scored in the fifth inning, though none counted against the right-hander's ERA. This game was the lone win for the Sox in any game started by Schlittler, by a final score of 6-3. Offensively, Caleb Durbin hit a clutch home run in the game, but it didn’t come off the starter. Rafaela, Duran, and Nate Eaton all contributed one RBI while Durbin had two.

The final time the Sox saw Schlittler before the postseason came on August 28 and he was dominant once again. He tossed 5.2 innings again, striking out eight, walking five, and allowing two hits and zero earned runs. Rafaela, Abreu, and Eli White all had hits for Boston in the losing effort.

I know, this sounds like I'm essentially projecting the Red Sox to drop game one of the Wild Card since Schlittler has been so dominant all season, both against them and the rest of the league. There's reasons to be optimistic about a different outcome this time around, though. Adley Rutschman is waking up at the plate and will be hitting from his preferred side in Game 1, Durbin is coming out of his slump, Contreras is back and playing, Rafaela has avoided another setback with his hamstring injury, and the team has three incredible starters lined up to face the Yankees. It's going to be a difficult series, but it would be shortsighted to count the Red Sox out right now.

At the top of this I said that the Red Sox have a tall task in front of them to take Game 1 in the Bronx from the Yankees, and recent history says that Schlittler is going to pitch well, but the playoffs are ripe for surprising upsets and series-altering outcomes. It’s going to take a big swing or two, with stellar pitching from the Red Sox’s own starter and bullpen, for the team to win, but crazier things have happened in this rivalry.

And, hey, maybe the team will have some travel issues flying into NYC from Tampa. Those seem to have preempted the big moments all season.