What Yankees’ Cam Schlittler learned from his ‘other’ playoff start

Everyone remembers Cam Schlittler’s first playoff start, and for good reason. With eight scoreless innings and 12 strikeouts against his hometown Red Sox , the Yankees’ right-hander delivered an all-time, do-or-die performance in Game 3 of last year’s Wild Card series. And with Boston fans going after the rookie and his family on social media before the game, Schlittler’s gem and the ensuing war of words became an ongoing story.

But Schlittler also started Game 4 of the American League Division Series last October. That game is best-remembered as the Yankees’ last of the 2025 season , as the Blue Jays won, 5-2, and threw a party in the Bronx. Schlittler, lacking his best stuff, held Toronto to two earned runs over 6.

1 innings while totaling eight hits, zero walks and two strikeouts that night. He was neither bad nor great, but fine against a pesky lineup that wore him down with 24 foul balls over the course of a 1. 2-inning outing on Sept.

5. “They’re a contact team,” Schlittler said Tuesday with the Blue Jays back in town. “I was willing to give up strikeouts to get quick outs and get deep into the game.