One Good, One Bad: Game 3 Wild Card Series

by Andrew Hefner

October 3, 2025

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Flipping over dugout walls, an all-time pitching performance by a rookie, and only one inning of scoring - I would have expected nothing less from the Yankees.

With the first step to a potential ring out of the way, let us take a look at One Good and One Bad from the final game of the 2025 AL Wild Card Series.

The Good

Do I even need to say it? Cam Schlittler just had one of the greatest playoff pitching performances in no less than his first career playoff game, which also happened to be a win-or-go-home game against his favorite childhood team, and the Yankees' biggest rivals. There could not have been a better script than that, and Schlittler played the role perfectly. Eight near-perfect innings of zero-run ball, with 12 strikeouts, and not a single walked batter. He pitched over 100 pitches, convinced Aaron Boone to let him stay out for the eight (which some would argue was the most impressive part of his feat last night), and did not let a single count go to three balls from the second inning on. He is the first pitcher in postseason history to go 8+ innings with 12 strikeouts and no walks. He has the most strikeouts by any Yankees pitcher in their first career postseason start. He is the first rookie pitcher to ever strike out 8 or more batters in a win-or-go-home game. You can not get more dominant than that, and I am sure that if given the choice, a complete game shutout would have been on the way.

With so many injuries to the pitching staff, Schlittler has risen to the occasion in a way only the best scouts in baseball could have foresaw. He can throw over 100 regularly, has expert control with nasty offspeed pitches, and even looks a bit like Gerrit Cole, which is a huge plus as well. He progressed so quickly through the minors that he was in AA just in June and is now being trusted as the Game 3 starter in the most important game of the season for an organization he was not even a part of just shy of two years ago.

This was a masterclass from a guy who is not nearly old enough to be considered a master, yet by all accounts, he looked like one in the Bronx last night. A huge hat's off to Cam Schlittler - the Red Sox killer.

The Bad

I mentioned it earlier, and although the offense did look overall to be in a good spot, only one big inning was the cementing factor last night. There was not a single home run (which, in this case, I will applaud them for winning without one), and I fear that without the rally in the 4th, there could have been a very different result for Schlittler and the Yankees.

Aaron Judge and Ben Rice each went 0-3 (though Judge was hit by a pitch in a pretty big spot), so I think that just some more overall consistency from a lot of guys would be majorly beneficial to the team going forward.

Not being able to respond as the game goes on will become a problem with Toronto looming, so hopefully, they can just manufacture some more runs as they prepare for the ALDS starting this Saturday.

One final shoutout to Ryan McMahon for having one of his first signature Yankees moments, and the same for Amed Rosario.

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Enjoy the off day before the Yankees will head out to Toronto on Saturday for the start of a five-game ALDS series with the first pitch scheduled for 4:08 PM on Fox. The starters are yet to be announced.