Two Massachusetts natives are expected play in key positions for the New York Yankees on Thursday night in a deciding Game 3 of the wild-card series against the Boston Red Sox.<\/p>\n
The series is tied 1-1, and the winner moves on to the ALDS.<\/p>\n
Rookie pitcher Cam Schlittler, who grew up in Walpole, is expected to be the starter for New York.<\/p>\n
Schlittler made his debut with the Yankees in July. The 6-foot-6-inch-tall pitcher was drafted in the seventh round by New York in 2022. He started the year in Double-A and dominated at each level.<\/p>\n
He is 4-3 this season with a 2.96 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 84 strikeouts.<\/p>\n
Schlittler is the son of Needham Police Chief John Schlittler. He is the 12th former Northeastern University player to appear in an MLB game.<\/p>\n
SportsCenter 5 spoke to Schlittler before Game 1. At the time, Schlittler did not confirm whether Ben Rice, a Cohasset native, would be his catcher in Game 3.<\/p>\n
Video below: Schlittler’s debut with Yankees<\/strong><\/p>\n Rice, 26, is widely expected to be behind home plate Thursday.<\/p>\n “It’s exciting. It’s going to be fun. If we get to Game 3, hopefully we’ll disappoint some people back home,” Schlittler said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Rice graduated from Noble and Greenough School before attending Dartmouth College. While he grew up in Massachusetts, Rice rooted for the Yankees as a child.<\/p>\n New York Yankees<\/p>\n Ben Rice #22 talks to Cam Schlittler #31. Aug. 25, 2025.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n He was promoted to the major league by the Yankees in June 2024. He also plays first base and designated hitter.<\/p>\n The Red Sox are also expected to start a rookie pitcher on Thursday, Connelly Early. His record is 1-2 with a 2.33 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 29 strikeouts.<\/p>\n New York has a 94-68 record overall and a 50-31 record at home. The Yankees have the highest team slugging percentage in MLB play at .455.<\/p>\n Boston has a 41-40 record on the road and an 89-73 record overall. Red Sox hitters have a collective .324 on-base percentage, the eighth-best percentage in the majors.<\/p>\n Game 3 is scheduled for 8 p.m. in the Bronx.<\/p>\n This content is imported from Facebook. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Would you call them traitors? Or pros? Two Massachusetts natives are expected to play key roles for the Yankees in Game 3 against the Red Sox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":101903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[3961,2099,47,3962,2450,3963,3970,3966,3977,2617,3973,40,3976,3969,114,3968,3974,3967,3971,3972,3965,3964,3975,3770,1198],"class_list":["post-101902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-alds","tag-ben-rice","tag-boston-red-sox","tag-bronx","tag-cam-schlittler","tag-cohasset","tag-debut","tag-game","tag-mass-native-schlittler","tag-massachusetts","tag-massachusetts-native","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-play","tag-record","tag-red-sox","tag-rice","tag-rookie-pitcher-cam-schlittler","tag-schlittler","tag-strikeout","tag-thursday-night","tag-walpole","tag-wcvb","tag-whip","tag-wild-card-series","tag-yankees"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Mass.](\"https:\/\/kubrick.htvapps.com\/htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/images\/rice-schlittler-gettyimages-2231384527-68de72e325cb8.jpg?resize=660:*\" "\\"Washington")
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