Two Massachusetts natives delivered the damage against their hometown team Tuesday night as Rice drove in six runs and Schlittler dominated Boston in the AL Wild Card opener.
NEW YORK — Aaron, who? Ben Rice and Cam Schlittler grew up in Massachusetts surrounded by Red Sox fans. Rice did for New York what Yankees fans have been waiting a decade for Aaron Judge to do…hit dingers in the postseason and win games.
Tuesday night, they helped put Boston on the brink of elimination.
Rice blasted two home runs, including an eighth-inning grand slam, while Schlittler overwhelmed the Red Sox over 6 1/3 scoreless innings as the New York Yankees rolled to a 9-0 victory in Game 1 of their American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees now need one more win to eliminate Boston for the second straight postseason.
Rice Takes Over Without Aaron Judge
With Aaron Judge unavailable because of a calf injury, Rice delivered the kind of postseason performance New York needed.
The Cohasset, Massachusetts native went 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double and six RBIs.
Rice doubled in the first inning before launching a solo homer to center in the fifth, extending New York’s lead to 2-0.
He added an RBI single in the seventh before putting the game away in the eighth with a grand slam off Brayan Bello.
By the end of the night, Rice had personally driven in two-thirds of New York’s runs.
Schlittler Does It to Boston Again
Boston had even fewer answers for Schlittler.
The Yankees ace allowed only two hits and one walk while striking out 10 across 6 1/3 innings. He threw a career-high 117 pitches.
It continued what has become a brutal pattern for the Red Sox.
Last October, Schlittler eliminated Boston with eight scoreless innings and 12 strikeouts in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series.
After Tuesday’s performance, Schlittler has now thrown 14 1/3 scoreless postseason innings against Boston with 22 strikeouts and just one walk.
The Walpole, Massachusetts native finished the regular season with a 1.95 ERA and entered the playoffs as one of the leading candidates for the American League Cy Young Award.
Two Massachusetts Kids Haunt Boston
That may be the most painful part for Red Sox fans.
Schlittler grew up roughly 25 miles southwest of Fenway Park. Rice grew up about the same distance southeast of Boston in Cohasset.
Both played college baseball in New England before being drafted by the Yankees.
Now they have become two of New York’s most important players.
Rice supplied the offense Tuesday. Schlittler made sure Boston never had a chance to answer.
Yankees One Win From Moving On
New York led only 2-0 through six innings before the game completely unraveled for Boston. The Yankees scored twice in the seventh and five more times in the eighth, with Rice’s grand slam delivering the knockout blow.
Austin Wells drove in two runs, while 21-year-old George Lombard Jr. collected three hits in his postseason debut.
Boston finished with just three hits.
The Yankees will try to close out the best-of-three series Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium with Max Fried scheduled to face Sonny Gray.
Ben Rice drove in six runs and Cam Schlittler struck out 10 as the Yankees crushed the Red Sox 9-0 to take Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series.
New York Yankees, MLB, Sports, Baseball, New York
