Yankees announce starting rotation for Wild Card Series, Schlitler to start Game 1

Yankees fireball ace Schlitler. (File photo, AFP)

[Sports Center/Comprehensive Report] The American League Wild Card Series has staged a classic "Bay Sock" battle for two consecutive years. The Yankees announced today that they will send out the American League's popular Cy Young starter Cam Schlittler as the starting pitcher for three games today, hoping to get off to a winning start.

In the best-of-three Wild Card Series, the Yankees will introduce Schlittler in the first game, Max Fried in the second game, and if there is a third game, Gerrit Cole will be in charge.

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Schlitler, the 25-year-old Yankees fireball man, played in 33 games this season and posted 14 wins, 6 losses, 239 K, and an ERA of 1.95. He won the American League ERA title for the first time in his career. This was the first time the Yankees had led the American League in ERA since Ron Guidry (Ron Guidry) in 1978. Guidry's 1.74 ERA, the lowest single-season ERA in team history. He is also expected to become the seventh pitcher in Yankees history to win the Cy Young Award, the last one being Cole in 2023.

Schlitler can be called a Red Sox killer. He started against the Red Sox 4 times this season and achieved 2 wins and 1 loss with an ERA of 0.74. He started against the Red Sox in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series last year and turned in 8 innings of 12K scoreless quality starts, helping the Yankees eliminate the Red Sox and advance to the American League Division Series.