Schlittler gets Game 1 nod against Red Sox, with Fried and Cole to follow

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  Jorge CastilloSep 27, 2026, 02:44 PM ET

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  ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.

NEW YORK -- American League Cy Young Award favorite Cam Schlittler will start for the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the best-of-3 wild-card Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox.

Left-hander Max Fried will start Game 2 on Wednesday, with Gerrit Cole getting the nod if the series goes to a Game 3, also in New York, on Thursday.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone was deciding between Schlittler and Fried for the opener.

Schlittler, 25, is coming off a historic regular season. He finished with 239 strikeouts and a 1.95 ERA -- the third-best mark in franchise history. Most importantly, he and Will Warren were the team's only starters who avoided the injured list. He was the group's anchor in his first full major-league season.

Schlitter's standing as the team's ace was never questioned by Yankees decision-makers. But the club pondered whether to give him an extra day of rest. He made three of his five final regular season starts on regular rest and finished with 193 2/3 innings pitched, 40 more than his previous high in a professional season.

Having Schlittler open against the Red Sox projects him to start Games 1 and 4 of the best-of-5 Division Series against the AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays on regular rest.

Both Schlittler and Fried threw side sessions at Yankee Stadium on Sunday before their scheduled regular-season finale against the Baltimore Orioles. Speaking to reporters Sunday morning, Boone said the decision "ultimately falls with" him.

"We have a lot of people weigh in and [I] want to hear their thoughts and reasoning," he said. "Ultimately, I make that call."

Fried, who had two stays on the injured list due to a bone bruise in his left elbow, posted a 2.80 ERA in 20 starts this season. He initially missed more than two months from mid-May to the end of July and another two weeks in August with a milder version of the injury.

Fried, 32, surrendered four runs across 6 2/3 innings in his final regular season outing Sept. 22 against the Rays. He will start Game 2 against Boston on seven days' rest.