In the end, the Yankees chose not to overthink it: They are giving the ball to their soon-to-be AL Cy Young winner. 

Cam Schlittler will start Game 1 of the AL wild-card series against the Red Sox on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, the club announced Sunday, going with their dominant right-hander against his hometown team once again. 

“He wants the ball, and he’s ready to go,” manager Aaron Boone said Sunday. 

Max Fried will start Game 2, with Gerrit Cole slated for Game 3, if necessary, and Carlos Rodón set to be on the roster out of the bullpen. 

Schlittler, who finished the regular season with a 1.95 ERA, will be on his regular fifth day Tuesday. The Yankees debated starting Fried for the opener and keeping Schlittler for Game 2 — with a chance to clinch the series or extend their season, not to mention giving him an extra day with the long season (and they hope a long October) in mind — but instead opted to pitch their best arm right out of the gate. 

“Obviously Cam’s going to win the Cy Young Award and has been the best pitcher in the league and has earned the right to have that,” Boone said. “But there’s working through the, ‘Do we want him in a Game 2 scenario, with a chance to move on and slam the door, or if your back’s against the wall?’ Flushing that out a little bit. Just all things I was considering, but a lot of it has to do with just simply where all four of those guys are and the confidence we have giving them the ball.” 

Yankees’ Cam Schlittler delivers a pitch against the New York Mets during the third inning of an MLB baseball game Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in New York. Noah K. Murray for NY Post

Last year, Schlittler pitched the clinching Game 3 of the AL wild-card series against the Red Sox — tossing eight shutout innings with 12 strikeouts — and then continued to shove against them this season, posting a 0.74 ERA in four starts. 

During the regular season — when he racked up a career-high 193 ²/₃ innings — Schlittler pitched to a 2.21 ERA in 15 starts on four days’ rest and a 1.42 ERA in 14 starts on five days’ rest. But after Schlittler and Fried both threw bullpen sessions on a rainy Sunday morning in The Bronx, the Yankees finalized their decision. 

New York Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler throws a pitch during the first inning of a game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y. Robert Sabo for NY Post

Schlittler, Boone said, was “half asleep on the training table” when he informed him of the decision. 

Fried faced the Red Sox twice this season, tossing eight shutout innings against them in April and then 3 ²/₃ innings of one-run ball in August in his first start back from a second IL stint for a left elbow bone bruise. The veteran left-hander just got up to his full clip of pitches last Tuesday, throwing 97 against the Rays, to end the regular season with a 2.80 ERA. 

“It was something we debated,” Boone said. “Different people had different stances on it. I considered both things, but ultimately decided this was the way I wanted to go.” 

Cole, meanwhile, was mostly strong in his first season back from Tommy John surgery, posting a 3.61 ERA in 22 starts. He invited some questions late with a pair of September clunkers, in which he gave up seven home runs combined, while also having a 5.30 ERA in 20 career starts against the Red Sox. 

But if the series gets to a do-or-die Game 3, the Yankees will bank on Cole’s track record (and really, how he threw for most of this season) to get them to the ALDS against the Rays. 

“[The rotation] has clearly, I think, been our greatest strength this year,” Boone said. “We haven’t had it all together at different times, but I do feel like all four of those guys are throwing the ball incredibly well right now at the right time. While we have some other things that didn’t line up going into the playoffs, I feel like our starters have, and especially with the way Carlos is throwing too, that’s why it was such a difficult decision lining up the three, because [we] could have easily gone with ’Los in one of these three, too, and felt really, really good about it. 

“Love where they’re all at. I feel like they’re all ready to go. Hopefully they go out and do what they’re capable of.”