Schlittler & Rice Lead Yankee Game 1 Win. NY 9 Boston 0

September 30, 2026 paperbacklou 2026 0
Ben Rice hits solo HR in 5th to put NY up 2-0. Rice went 4 for 5 with 2 HR's and 6 RBI's.

Cam Schlittler was ELECTRIC — throwing a 1-hit shutout into the 7th inning — and Ben Rice went 4 for 5 with 2 HR’s including a Grand Slam as the Yankees crushed the Red Sox 9-0 to win Game 1 of the best-of-3 Wild Card Series, on a beautiful Fall Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.

Both Schlittler and Rice grew up in the Boston area; Rice was a Yankee fan in a family of Red Sox fans, while Schlittler was a Red Sox fan.

There were other heroes: Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells — whom many Yankee fans have SHIT on all season — got hits to help NY get its 1st run off Boston Ace Payton Tolle in the 2nd inning; Wells went 2 for 3 with a walk and 2 RBI on the night. George Lombard Jr. got 3 hits. Spencer Jones went 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored. All of them — Schlittler, Rice, Volpe, Wells, Lombard, and Spencer Jones — are homegrown thru the Yankee system.

And Paul Blackburn and John Schreiber pitched shutout ball out of the pen.

Rice hit a HR off Tolle in the 5th to put NY up 2-0. It remained a close 2-0 game to the 7th, when Rice lashed an RBI single to put NY up 3-0. The Yanks put it away with 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th, including Rice’s Grand Slam.

“It’s very easy to lock in,” said Cam Schlittler afterwards. “I feed off the crowd and the Bronx is a great place to play.”

“Off the bat? ‘Wow I think it’s going to go out, and I hope it’s going to go,” said Ben Rice afterwards when he was asked what was going thru his mind off the bat when he hit the Grand Slam in the 8th.

“Of course the homegrown guys were really good tonight,” said manager Aaron Boone afterwards. “One of those really special nights at Yankee Stadium.”

1. Schlittler Fantastic

The #1 story throughout the game was Cam Schlittler — who was absolutely dominant and unhittable — pitching a shutout into the 7th inning.

Schlittler’s curve ball was curving and he used it a lot, combining it with his 101-MPH heat to absolutely shut down the Red Sox.

Schlittler’s fastball edged down to 97 MPH by the 5th and 6th innings — but it was plenty enough, with the curveball, to continue to stifle Boston.

As Schlittler was approaching 100 pitches in the 6th, the National broadcast announcers on NBC (including Anthony Rizzo) were surprised that manager Aaron Boone had nobody warming in the pen. But it was clear that Boone — who is an expert analyst of his pitchers — saw something else — that Cam was still throwing with complete command.

Schlittler finished off the 6th inning at 107 pitches, and it was assumed by everyone watching that his night was over. But Boone brought him out for the 7th to face righty Willson Contreras, Boston’s best hitter. And he got Contreras on an easy lineout to Lombard at 2nd. But Wilyer Abreu hit a 3-2 curveball for a single to center, and Schlittler’s night was done after 127 pitches, leading 2-0.

2. Lombard, Volpe & Wells Get Yanks on Board in 2nd

Payton Tolle pitched a shutout 1st inning — pitching around a 1-out double by Ben Rice.

But George Lombard Jr. led off the 2nd with a bloop single into center, and after Tolle struck out Amed Rosario — Anthony Volpe — who has been SHIT ON all season by many Yankee fans — singled to center to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Spencer Jones, however, worked a 6-pitch at bat before fouling out to 3rd.

With 2 outs, Austin Wells — who has been BASHED all season by many Yankee fans — BASHED a single to right and it was 1-0 NY.

3. Rice HR Puts NY Up 2-0 in 5th

Tolle got back on his stick and shut the Yanks out 1-2-3 in the 3rd, with 2 strikeouts, then got into and out of trouble to pitch a shutout 4th — allowing a leadoff infield single to Lombard and walking Rosario, but getting Volpe to foul out and Spencer Jones to hit into a doubleplay.

Tolle got the first 2 outs of the 5th — the last one a lineout to deep right by Paul Goldschmidt — and that was his evening — replaced by big 6’5 lefty Erik Miller with Ben Rice due up. The Red Sox acquired Miller at the trade deadline from the SF Giants. Miller went 2-2 3.38 for the BoSox down the stretch.

But the lefty-lefty plan backfired as Ben Rice hit a 96-MPH sinker 423 feet to center for a HR and 2-0 Yankee lead.

4. Rice RBI Single & Wells Sac Fly Give NY 4-0 Lead in 7th

Former Yankee Greg Weissert pitched a 1-2-3 shutout 6th for Boston, then rookie Alec Gamboa, a 29-year-old 6’1 lefty with a 1.91 ERA (in 33 innings) came in for the bottom of the 7th in a 2-0 game.

Lefty Spencer Jones laced a single to right off the lefty Gamboa to begin the inning, then lefty Austin Wells — whom many Yankee fans have SHIT on all season — RIPPED a single to right, and Paul Goldschmidt walked to load the bases with nobody out.

Lefty Ben Rice then RIPPED an RBI single to right for a 3-0 Yankee lead.

Boston brought in 6’0 righty Wyatt Olds (with a 1.15 ERA) to pitch, and Luis Garcia Jr. hit a SHOT up the middle that 2nd baseman Nick Sogard made a Spectacular diving play on — gloving the ball and flipping it out of his glove to begin a double play. A run scored and it was 4-0 NY.

5. Blackburn Terrific

Paul Blackburn relieved Cam Schlittler with 1 out and a runner on base in a 2-0 game in the top of the 7th. One of the National announcers (not Anthony Rizzo) said he felt the energy switched to Boston, as Schlittler finally was gone, they had a runner on base in a 2-0 game, and now faced Paul Blackburn.

Blackburn threw 2 balls to Ceddanne Rafaela, before coming back with 2 strikes, then getting Rafaela to hit into a 3rd-to-2nd-to-1st doubleplay — Ryan McMahon to Lombard to Paul Goldschmidt — to end the inning.

Blackburn then pitched the 8th — after NY got 2 runs to make it 4-0 — and got 2 quick groundouts before allowing a double to Trevor Story — then getting Durbin to fly out to end the inning.

Terrific outing by Blackburn the former All Star who went 7-3 1.69 this year for NY. Many Yankee fans BASHED Brian Cashman when he re-signed Blackburn last winter.

6. Rice Grand Slam Highlights 5-Run 8th

George Lombard Jr. led off the 8th with his 3rd hit of the game — a shot off the wall in right that went for a single. Ryan McMahon then worked a walk, and Anthony Volpe bunted the runners to 2nd and 3rd.

Spencer Jones worked a walk to load the bases, and Boston brought in Brayan Bello — who had an injury plagued season (6-7 4.33) but was tremendous for Boston in September, with only 1 run allowed in 18.2 innings, including an 11-strikeout, 8 inning masterpiece against Tampa on Sept 19.

But Austin Wells hit a drive to right off Bello for a sac fly and 5-0 Yankee lead.

Paul Goldschmidt then worked a walk to re-load the bases, and Ben Rice MASHED a 3-2, 97-MPH sinker 408 feet to dead center for a Grand Slam an 9-0 game.

7. Schreiber Lights Out to Finish It

John Schreiber — former Red Sox who the Yanks picked up in August — was absolutely lights out in the 9th — fly out, groundout, 3-pitch strikeout for the old ballgame.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401907924

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