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Schlittler Delivers Gem as Yankees Trounce Sox in Wild Card Finale

 Yankees rookie right hander Cam Schlittler delivered one of the best performances by a Yankees starter in a playoff game, as New York routed the Boston Red Sox 4-0, en route to Toronto for the American League Division Series. 


Schlittler didn't look like a guy starting his first ever playoff game. He looked like he had done this for years as he cooled the heels of the Red Sox over eight brilliant innings.  He struck out 12 batters, allowed only five hits and walked nobody. Routinely Schlitter was hitting 100 mph + on the radar gun all night as the Red Sox couldn't keep off his slider, and couldn't catch up to his four seem and two seem fastballs. 

According to Yahoo Sports Schlitter "broke the Yankees' record for most strikeouts in a postseason debut. He became the first rookie to hit double-digit strikeouts in a postseason game in 28 years. He's the first pitcher, ever, to post at least 12 strikeouts, zero walks and at least eight scoreless innings."

Even the Yankees helped him out a bit defensively. Anthony Volpe made a nifty play at short stop on a bad throw by Jazz Chisholm for an out in the seventh inning, and Ryan McMahon turned heads with a somersault over the third base dugout for an out in the eighth inning. 

 The Yankees got all the runs Schlittler would need in the fourth inning. Cody Bellinger opened the frame by blooping a double into shallow center that Ceddanne Rafaela couldn't catch. Giancarlo Stanton followed with a walk, setting the stage for ex-Met Amed Rosario to drive in the game's first run with a sharp single to left. 

Volpe cracked a single to right, scoring Stanton to make it 2-0. Finally Austin Wells reached on a fielder's choice after his line drive bounced up off the dirt and past the outstretched glove of first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, scoring two more runs. 

The series win is the first such victory for the Yankees in the playoffs over the Red Sox since the 2003 ALCS. Boston, of course has owned the Yankees in the postseason ever since the legendary ALCS of 2004. 

New York will now head up to Toronto to open the ALDS with the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. It will be the first time these long time division rivals ever faced in the postseason. Toronto was 8-5 against the Yankees in the regular season.  

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