It was a night to remember for the New York Yankees, who dominated the Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Series opener.
The Yankees’ 9-0 victory wasn’t completely perfect, but it could be a strong indicator of what the team is capable of when firing on all cylinders. Even before the offensive explosion in the late innings, the lineup was able to wear Boston’s pitching down and provide just enough breathing room for the pitching staff to work with. As for the pitching, New York got yet another remarkable performance from the starting staff while the bullpen kept the stress levels low.
Here are some of the standouts from Game 1 on Tuesday night.
Biggest Winner: Ben Rice
It was a toss-up between Ben Rice and Cam Schlittler for the Yankees’ player of the game until the eighth inning, when Rice capped off a phenomenal night at the plate with a grand slam.
The 27-year-old slugger went 4-for-5 with a pair of homers and six RBI, ultimately finishing a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. After beginning the night with a double, each of Rice’s next three hits drove in key runs; he greeted Erik Miller with a solo shot in the fifth to give Schlittler a larger margin for error, provided another insurance run with a bases-loaded single in the seventh, and then put the game completely out of reach with his eighth-inning slam.
With Aaron Judge still sidelined, Rice will be the Yankees’ primary run producer during their playoff run. His fantastic game last night proved that he is up to the task, and the lineup will be in good hands if he continues to produce like that.
Winner: Cam Schlittler
After much debate about whether he’d get the ball for Game 1 or not, the Yankees correctly chose to start Schlittler to begin the series on the right note. He did just that with a sequel to his brilliant Wild Card start from a year ago.
Not a single Red Sox batter advanced into scoring position over Schlittler’s 6.1 innings of work, which saw him allow just two hits and a walk. The 25-year-old righty punched out 10 batters and kept Boston unprepared for his fastballs by mixing in the curveball to brilliant effect. Schlittler generated an outstanding 24 whiffs on his pitches, and eight of them came on the curveball.
In two of his three career postseason outings, Schlittler didn’t allow a run and struck out at least 10. Granted, both of those performances came against the Red Sox, but there’s no reason to believe he can’t replicate that dominance against the Rays or other future opponents this October (assuming the Yankees finish off Boston).
Loser: Heliot Ramos
One of the very few lowlights of Tuesday’s game came from Heliot Ramos, who had started to look more comfortable in pinstripes during September (.813 OPS in 62 plate appearances).
Despite having the platoon advantage in all three of his at-bats, Ramos didn’t deliver any production from the No. 3 spot. He struck out in both plate appearances against Payton Tolle and grounded out against former Giants teammate Erik Miller. Ramos notably struck out on five pitches with a runner in scoring position in the first inning; that runner (Rice) failed to score.
The Yankees were fortunate enough to get more than enough offense from other areas, which counterbalanced Ramos’ poor performance. But based on how overmatched he looked, he probably shouldn’t be in the heart of the order in future games, even against southpaws.
Winner: George Lombard Jr.
Despite a baserunning gaffe that resulted in a double play in the fourth inning, George Lombard Jr. shined in his playoff debut by tallying three hits and scoring a pair of runs.
In his first at-bat, Lombard battled Payton Tolle for seven pitches before blooping a single to center field; he eventually scored on Austin Wells’ RBI single that gave New York what proved to be a permanent lead. After an infield single in the fourth (and later being doubled off second), Lombard started the Yankees’ five-run rally in the eighth with a leadoff single and scored on Wells’ sacrifice fly.
Lombard also held his own in the field, including turning a crucial inning-ending double play in the seventh. Yet his bat was the story, as he is the second-youngest player in MLB history with a three-hit game in their postseason debut.
Winner: Austin Wells
The bottom third of the Yankee lineup was productive in general, as Anthony Volpe, Spencer Jones and Austin Wells combined to go 4-for-9. But Wells deserves special recognition for having two of those hits, alongside a pair of RBI.
As mentioned earlier, Wells drove in Lombard in the second inning for what was the only run against Tolle and the only run Schlittler needed. Yet the Yankee backstop wasn’t done, as he contributed to the team’s seventh-inning rally with another single (and eventually scored on a double play grounder) and drove in another run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
While Wells’ regular season was a massive struggle as a whole, he did show noteworthy improvement at the plate in the second half. It appears that form is carrying over to the postseason, and the Yankees could have a legitimate threat lurking at the bottom of the order if he is able to consistently deliver like he did on Tuesday.
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