Yankees Manager Aaron Boone on Cam Schlittler's Playoff Gem: 'A Star is Born'

Cam Schlittler's key to putting Boston Red Sox bats to sleep was his own slumber.

Making only his 15th major league start, Schlittler struck out 12 in eight dominant innings Thursday night as the New York Yankees blanked Boston 4-0 to win their AL Wild Card Series in a deciding third game.

Overpowering hitters with 100 mph heat in a winner-take-all elimination game, the 24-year-old rookie became the first pitcher in postseason history to throw at least eight shutout innings with 12 or more strikeouts and no walks.

Against the archrival Red Sox, no less, the team he grew up rooting for in Massachusetts.

"A star is born tonight," manager Aaron Boone proclaimed after his Yankees advanced to a Division Series matchup with Toronto.

Schlittler prepared for the big moment by speaking Wednesday with Yankees great Andy Pettitte, a five-time World Series champion and winner of a record 19 postseason games.

"I got really good sleep last night. I wasn’t too worried about it," Schlittler said. "I woke up and I was locked in, so I knew exactly what I needed to do and go out there, especially against my hometown team. So as I told Andy yesterday, I wasn’t going to let them beat me. So I was just overconfident in that fact, making sure I wasn’t getting too carried away with it."

The 6-foot-6 Schlittler started the season at Double-A Somerset, was promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on June 3 and debuted in the majors July 9 after Clarke Schmidt injured his elbow.

Schlittler grew up a Red Sox fan in Walpole, Massachusetts, but has said several times he wanted to play for the Yankees. He had faced Boston only once before, as a freshman at Northeastern in a 2020 spring training exhibition.

He outpitched Connelly Early, a 23-year-old