In a rematch of last year’s Wild Card series matchup, the New York Yankees will once again be facing the Boston Red Sox in a three-game set to decide which team advances to the ALDS. MLB postseason seeding can be unforgiving; by virtue of winning the AL West, the Houston Astros earned the top seed in the Wild Card round, relegating the Yankees and Red Sox, two teams that have a better record than the Astros to a clash against each other.
For Game 1, it is Cam Schlittler who will be starting for the Yankees. Schlittler put up an incredible campaign in 2026, his first full season in the big leagues, recording an ERA of 1.95 in 33 starts (195.2 innings). He is the deserving starter in Game 1 against the Red Sox, especially when he’s on track to win the 2026 AL Cy Young award.
This matchup against the Red Sox also feels personal for Schlittler. After all, according to the Yankees ace, the Red Sox didn’t scout him very thoroughly even though he played college baseball at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.
“I wouldn’t say that there was much of a scout there. The connections I have in college with the scouts, the Red Sox really weren’t one of those. (Yankees scout) Matty Hyde was kind of my guy and he had a lot of faith in me. He’s the reason why I’m a Yankee,” Schlittler said in a presser, via SNY Yankees on X.
Cam Schlittler says the Red Sox didn't scout him much in college:
"(Yankees scout) Matty Hyde was kind of my guy and he had a lot of faith in me. He's the reason why I'm a Yankee." pic.twitter.com/ZRGE066JZZ
— SNY Yankees (@snyyankees) September 28, 2026
Schlittler wasn’t very highly-regarded as a prospect, paving the way for the Yankees to select him in the seventh round (220nd overall pick) of the 2022 MLB Draft. But it didn’t take long for him to establish himself as one of the best prospects in the Yankees system, as he reached the big leagues in just his third professional season.
He has the opportunity to twist the knife against his hometown team that overlooked him once again. Last year, Schlittler tossed eight innings of shutout baseball in Game 3 of the Wild Card series to power New York into the ALDS with a 4-0 win over the Red Sox.
