Tolle to face Schlittler in Red Sox-Yankees Wild Card opener

Cam Schlittler will start Game 1 for the Yankees against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday at 8 p.m. Eastern. New York also named Max Fried for Game 2 and Gerrit Cole for Game 3, if needed. Boston manager Chad Tracy announced Monday that rookie left-hander Payton Tolle will start Game 1, followed by Sonny Gray in Game 2 and Ranger Suárez in Game 3 if necessary, according to the Associated Press.

Schlittler is 14-6 with a 1.95 ERA after 33 starts. Against Boston this season, he went 2-1 with a 0.74 ERA in four outings. His latest meeting came August 28 in the Bronx: five and two-thirds scoreless innings and eight strikeouts in a 1-0 Yankees win. MLB’s video of that start is from August, not this week. New York’s Game 1 announcement says he worked only three innings in his final regular-season start Thursday and was held to 70 pitches.

Boston will counter with Tolle, who went 9-6 with a 3.03 ERA in 26 starts. The 23-year-old held the Yankees to one run and four hits across 13 innings in two starts this season, striking out 18, according to the Associated Press. Gray, 36, finished 18-5 with a 2.72 ERA and 20 quality starts. Tracy has named him for Game 2, with Suárez assigned to a deciding third game if needed.

The Red Sox closed the regular season Sunday with a 6-2 loss to the Cubs in a game relocated to Tropicana Field. Willson Contreras returned as the designated hitter after a right-hand injury. MLB’s preview still lists Mickey Gasper’s biceps injury and Garrett Crochet’s possible activation as roster questions, so neither should be treated as settled before the club announces its series roster.

Tuesday’s opener is on NBC and Peacock. The best-of-three series stays in New York, with the winner advancing to face Tampa Bay in the Division Series. Boston’s immediate challenge is clear from Schlittler’s four starts against it this year: create more scoring chances against a pitcher who has repeatedly shut down its lineup.