Cam Schlittler and Ben Rice spent their formative years surrounded by everything Red Sox, only to land on the other side of baseball’s most storied rivalry. Back under the postseason spotlight, the Massachusetts-born duo delivered for the Yankees, fracturing a few more New England hearts in the process. Schlittler struck out 10 over 6 1/3 scoreless innings and Rice launched two homers, including a grand slam, as part of a six-RBI performance as the Yankees posted a 9-0 victory over Boston in Tuesday’s Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium. In the history of the best-of-three Wild Card Series, teams taking a 1-0 lead have gone on to win the series 21 of 24 times (88%), including 17 two-game sweeps. Home teams have won all nine series in which they have gone ahead 1-0, including eight sweeps. A Walpole, Mass., native who grew up rooting for the Red Sox, only to become one of Red Sox Nation’s most popular targets on social media, Schlittler boasted coming into the start that he’s “good at keeping receipts.” Using available rage bait as fuel, Schlittler delivered a strong sequel after sending Boston home from last year’s AL Wild Card Series.
