Schlittler, Rice lead Yankees' rout of Red Sox in Game 1 - ESPN

NEW YORK — Cam Schlittler pitched another playoff gem against the Boston Red Sox, and Ben Rice also burned their hometown team with a late grand slam and six RBIs as the New York Yankees opened this Wild Card Series rematch with a 9-0 victory Tuesday night.

With the Yankees minus star slugger Aaron Judge because of a calf injury, Rice homered twice, doubled and finished with four hits to power the offense. No. 9 batter Austin Wells drove in two runs for New York, and 21-year-old rookie George Lombard Jr. had three hits in his postseason debut.

«It was pretty incredible, if I'm being honest,» Yankees infielder Anthony Volpe said of Rice's night. «But I don't think anyone is surprised. That's just what he does.»

Rice and Schlittler were both raised among Red Sox fans in Massachusetts and went to college in New England before getting plucked by the Yankees out of Boston's backyard in baseball's amateur draft.

Schlittler, a clear front-runner for the AL Cy Young Award after leading the league with a 1.95 ERA, struck out 10 and walked one in 6⅓ innings. He allowed only two hits while throwing 117 pitches — 10 more than his previous career high and most by a Yankees postseason starter since Hall of Fame lefty CC Sabathia threw 121 in the 2012 AL Division Series against Baltimore.

«Awesome,» Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Schlittler's outing. «The only thing was, obviously, it was a higher pitch count, and they made him work.… They took some tough at-bats against him.… But he was terrific.»

The major league high this season was 120 by Dylan Cease for Toronto at Boston in July.

For 4⅔ innings, Red Sox starter Payton Tolle was keeping up with Schlittler. He struck out four, allowing one run on five hits before departing with