The New York Yankees have advanced to the American League Division Series after defeating the Boston Red Sox 4-0 in Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium. With this victory, the Yankees ended Boston’s season and set up a matchup with the Toronto Blue Jays in a best-of-five series starting Saturday at Rogers Centre.
“We were a confident group, going into this Red Sox series,” said Yankees captain Aaron Judge. “They had our number all regular season, but we knew what we needed to do. This group knew what was ahead of us.”
On the anniversary of Bucky Dent’s notable home run, rookie pitcher Cam Schlittler delivered an impressive performance for New York, outpitching fellow rookie Connelly Early. Schlittler threw his fastball over 100 mph eleven times and recorded twelve strikeouts, setting a new postseason record for a Yankees rookie.
“It felt like as pressure-packed a game as I have ever been in,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “A great opponent, a storied opponent. The boys answered the bell and played great baseball these couple of days.”
Schlittler commented on his preparation for the game: “I woke up and I was locked in. I knew exactly what I needed to do and go out there, especially against my hometown team. As I told Andy [Pettitte] yesterday, I wasn’t going to let them beat me.”
The fourth inning proved decisive when Cody Bellinger reached base on an error by Boston center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela. The Yankees capitalized on several defensive errors by Boston, leading to four runs in that frame.
Boston manager Alex Cora acknowledged his team’s struggles: “We didn’t play defense. They didn’t hit the ball hard, but they found holes and it happened fast.”
Schlittler completed eight scoreless innings with 75 strikes out of 107 pitches thrown. Judge praised his teammate’s performance: “He’s been our secret weapon ever since he got called up,” noting that such efforts are now widely recognized.
Yankees third baseman Ryan McMahon made a key defensive play in the eighth inning by catching Jarren Duran’s foul pop-up while tumbling into the visiting dugout.
“When the games really matter like this, it means a lot more,” McMahon said.
After losing Game 1 of the series, New York became just the third team to win an AL Wild Card Series after dropping their opener since MLB expanded its playoff format in 2020.
“Man, I’m just glad we were able to extend the season,” Bellinger said. “What a fun group to be a part of. I love each and every one of these guys. This was just a fun series to be a part of.”
Ben Rice added: “It just shows what we’ve got in this room. We’ve got a resilient bunch of guys, and we’re proud of it.”
This is also notable as it marks New York’s first time ending Boston’s season since Aaron Boone’s walk-off home run clinched their pennant in 2003; previously Boston had won three consecutive postseason meetings between these rivals.
“That’s a good one,” Judge said. “They’ve had our number in the regular season and in the last couple of postseasons, from ’21 to ’18. But I like this one.”
