Yankees’ next generation is already crushing it: Red Sox (and Rays) beware | Klapisch

NEW YORK — If I'm the Red Sox , I'd be awfully worried about how easily the Yankees rolled to a 9-0 wipeout in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series. The gap between the two teams is so vast it would be naïve to think the Yankees aren't already looking ahead to the Division Series against the Rays.

The Red Sox, after all, had no answers for the Yankees on either side of the ball. Cam Schlittler destroyed Boston 's lineup – 6 1/3 innings, two hits, one walk, 10 strikeouts – while Ben Rice made everyone forget about Aaron Judge for 24 hours. Rice went 4-for-5 with two home runs (one was a grand slam) with six RBIs.

Manager Aaron Boone wasn't exaggerating when he called it a "special night" in the Bronx. The Yankee Stadium crowd was alive, and Rice's solo blast in the fifth inning was all it took to ignite it. The Yankees took that momentum and ran with it for the rest of the evening. It wasn't just the Red Sox who were being schooled – the message was sent all the way to Florida.

That should be the Rays' primary concern. When the Yankees set foot in Tropicana Field on Saturday night, they'll be led by the emerging next generation. From Rice to Schlittler, from George Lombard Jr. to Spencer Jones, and even the re-emergent Anthony Volpe . It's hard to disagree with Boone when he says, "We're a confident group … if we play our game, we can beat anyone."

There was no overt disrespect to the Red Sox, who were the American League's third-best team this season. But the humiliation on Tuesday went beyond the box score. Getting squashed by Schlittler and Rice — two native New Englanders whom the Sox chose not to draft out of college — was like rubbing it in Boston's face.

What a narrative for the Yankees — and the source of unending embarrassment for the Red Sox.

"This definitely adds a cool little layer to it, and for Cam, too," Rice said. "It's always fun playing against them. Having a solid game against them is pretty cool."

As fierce a hitter as Rice is, he's one of the gentlest souls in the Yankees' clubhouse. He's not mad at the Sox for letting him slip away. To the contrary, Rice grew up a Yankees fan who "idolized" Derek Jeter . He still gets a laugh remembering he wore a Yankees jacket for a first-grade class picture.

Schlittler, on the other hand, runs on darker fuel. He'll never forgive the Sox for dismissing him as a college pitcher who didn't throw hard enough. He lives for revenge these days. Schlittler gets pleasure from taking and returning fire with Sox fans on social media.

"I wouldn't say I'm always on my phone looking for that stuff," Schlittler said. "At the same time, I don't really live under a rock, as well. So finding ways to use that to my advantage, and I think I'm good at keeping receipts."

Schlittler has made the Sox pay — over and over. In his two-year career, Schlittler has posted a 0.47 ERA against Boston, striking out 49 in 38 2/3 innings. He's never allowed the Red Sox more than one earned run in any game he's pitched.

On Tuesday, Schlittler generated a career-high 24 swings and misses. The metric needs no other translation. Schlittler toyed with the Sox. It wasn't just from elite velocity, either.

Even though his fastball averaged 98.6 mph on the radar gun, Schlittler's best weapon was the 32 curveballs that paralyzed Boston's hitters.

The pitch broke sharply with late, downward movement. The book on Schlittler advises "cheating" on his four-seamer – in other words, swing early. That's the only way to catch up to one of the AL's premier fastballs. But doing so allowed Schlittler to short-circuit the Red Sox's timing.

Swing and miss. Swing and miss. Swing and miss.

No wonder Schlittler was celebrated as a hero when he finally walked off the mound in the seventh inning. It felt like the start of a beautiful relationship. He and Rice are learning that there are two critical components to becoming a Bronx legend: beat the Red Sox and do it in October.

The first box is almost checked. The second is a work in progress, but there's every reason to believe the 25-year-old Schlittler and the 27-year-old Rice will be leading the Yankees well into the next decade.

The Yankees' old guard will be gone by then. Judge (34), Gerrit Cole (36) and Giancarlo Stanton (37 in a few weeks) will all be Hall of Fame candidates, though they have so far failed to deliver a championship. That white whale might have to be chased by the next generation.

In the meantime, though, the Yankees are working on two other boxes.

Finish off the Sox and prepare for war with the Rays. It starts Saturday night.

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