The New York Yankees emphatically took their first postseason game against the Boston Red Sox.
More notable than the margin was the way the starting pitcher’s shutout performance coincided with one batter driving in 6 runs.
In a best-of-3 series rather than a single-game showdown, it is worth examining why a Game 1 victory is read as shaping the flow of the entire series.
3-line summary
1. The Yankees beat Boston 9-0
2. Rice hit 2 home runs and drove in 6 runs
3. Winning Game 1 is not winning the series
Schlittler’s 6⅓ scoreless innings, allowing only two hits
The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox 9-0 in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium. It was the result recorded on the day the Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason’s best-of-3 Wild Card Series began.
At the center of the victory was Yankees right-handed starter Cam Schlittler. Schlittler allowed no runs over 6⅓ innings and struck out 10. He allowed 2 hits and 1 walk. He threw 117 pitches, 77 of which were strikes.
Schlittler, who is from Massachusetts near Boston, was introduced as having been a Red Sox fan as a child. In this game, however, he wore a Yankees uniform and held down Boston’s lineup. It was a game in which the postseason matchup against a rival club overlapped with his hometown background, but the direct number that changed the result was the starter’s ability to remain scoreless for a long stretch of innings.
Ben Rice’s 2 home runs and 6 RBIs widened the score
At the plate, Ben Rice drove in 6 runs by himself. Rice hit a solo home run and a grand slam, then added an RBI single in the 7th inning. In a game in which the Yankees scored 9 runs, Rice’s RBIs accounted for a substantial share.
Early in the game, the Yankees’ scoring consisted entirely of 1 run, produced by Austin Wells’ RBI single in the 2nd inning. Boston starter Payton Tolle allowed 5 hits over 4⅔ innings. The Yankees widened the gap with Rice’s home run in the 5th, then decisively tilted the game with Rice’s grand slam in the 8th.
A crowd of 48,437 (48437) attended Yankee Stadium that day. The large margin was the result of one game, but the fact that the Yankees’ starter, middle of the order, and late-inning scoring all functioned evenly shifted the pressure for the next game toward Boston.
The historical weight of 1 win and the one game still remaining
MLB.com reported that in the history of best-of-3 Wild Card Series, the team that won Game 1 won the series 21 times out of 24, or approximately 88% of the time. Of those, 17 ended in two straight wins. In all 9 series in which the home team led after Game 1, the home team went on to win the series, and 8 ended in two straight wins.
This record shows the background behind why the Yankees’ Game 1 victory was more than simply a win in the opening game. However, past records do not establish the final result of this series. After the game, Schlittler also said, in essence, that they “have to win one more.”
The Yankees gained a 9-0 result and a statistically favorable start. However, the conclusion of the Wild Card Series will be awarded only to the team that earns one more win.
References
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