The Yankees will open their American League Wild Card Series against the Red Sox with Cam Schlittler on the mound Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, choosing their hottest arm to set the tone in a best-of-three postseason showdown with Boston.
Max Fried is lined up for Game 2 on Wednesday, while Gerrit Cole would take the ball Thursday if the series reaches a decisive third game. The opening game will air on NBC, Peacock and NBCSN.
Schlittler gets the first October call
New York weighed using Fried, the veteran left-hander, in the opener. That alignment could have positioned Schlittler for two starts in a potential American League Division Series.
Instead, the Yankees chose to begin the postseason with the pitcher who delivered their best regular-season results. Schlittler finished with a 1.95 ERA, the third-best single-season mark in Yankees history, and enters October as a leading American League Cy Young contender.
The decision gives the Yankees a formidable three-man setup for a series in which there is little room to recover from an early loss. Schlittler gets the first crack at the Red Sox, Fried follows the next night, and Cole waits in reserve should the rivals split the first two games.
Yankees Wild Card Series rotation
| Game | Day | Yankees starter |
|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | Tuesday | Cam Schlittler |
| Game 2 | Wednesday | Max Fried |
| Game 3, if necessary | Thursday | Gerrit Cole |
For the Yankees, the message is clear: start with Schlittler’s breakout season, lean on Fried if needed, and keep Cole ready for the kind of one-game October test that has defined the rivalry for generations.
