Cam Schlittler Starts Game 3 Between New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox

Cam Schlittler, starting the decisive Game 3 was set up by the Yankees winning last night. He will be opposed by rookie Connelly Early. The Red Sox are doing this because experienced Starting Pitcher, Lucas Giolito, is hurt and was left off the roster for the wild card round. Can you imagine starting a rookie, like Schlittler, in the decisive game of a playoff series?

Pitching Preview: Can Cam Schlittler Win Game 3?

Schlittler will be backed up by all hands in this must-win game, including Max Fried. Schlittler averages 98 miles per hour on his four-seamer and has touched triple digits 31 times. In 14 starts this season, the 24-year-old rookie went 4-3 with a 2.96 earned run average and had 84 strikeouts in 73 innings. 

Schlittler does everything better than Luis Gil, which is why he is on the roster and Gil is not. The biggest vote in Schlittler’s favor, however, is the improvement he showed with each start. By the end of the year, he showed a consistent ability to live on the top of the strike zone with his fastball, leading to a 27.9% swing and miss rate and 50 strikeouts on the four-seamer.

Each start also brought greater command of the cutter. The most interesting pitch has been the curveball, giving him a legitimate swing-and-miss secondary pitch and creating velocity separation off the fastball and cutter. He is coming off his best start of the season, seven scoreless, allowing two hits and a walk with a career-high nine strikeouts against the Orioles.

Boston’s Pitching

Early has earned this chance. The 2023 fifth-round pick out of the University of Virginia debuted on September 9, and he’s looked terrific through four starts, recording a 2.33 earned run average in 19.1 innings, with 29 strikeouts. The Yankees struggle with young pitchers they have not seen.

Early held the A’s and Rays to three earned runs in 14.1 innings. He lost to the slumping Tigers in his final appearance. Expect Early to get pulled early; Alex Cora would have likely had a quick hook regardless, but everyone is available. Former Giants prospect Kyle Harrison, acquired in the Rafael Devers deal, is also in the mix, per Cora. He has made three appearances with Boston (two starts), with a 3.00 earned run average in just 12 innings. 

Do Or Die Game 3

In the do-or-die, decisive game three, both the Yankees and Red Sox will pitch everyone. The Red Sox will pitch Garrett Crochet, and the Yankees will pitch Max Fried. Expect strange lineup happenings, like the Yankees and the Red Sox starting their best players without regard to who is pitching. Do-or-die games are entertaining for that reason.

Conclusion

Can you imagine pitching a rookie in a decisive must-win game? That said, neither pitcher is likely to be around that long. Both the Yankees and Red Sox are doing that in this game. It may not matter, however, as a do-or-die game, everyone will pitch, so the starting pitchers may not be around too long. By virtue of the fact that the Dodgers beat the Reds in two games, and that series is over, this game is at 8 p.m. tonight. The winner of this game faces the Blue Jays on Saturday at an undetermined time.