The New York Yankees are on to the American League Division Series. They defeated the Boston Red Sox in a do-or-die Game 3 of the Wild Card series, 4-0.

The biggest reason was also one of the least likely. Yankees rookie starting pitcher Cam Schlittler tossed eight shutout innings. He allowed just five hits while striking out 12.

Schlittler became the first pitcher in postseason history to toss eight scoreless innings, strike out 12, without walking a batter, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

That is pretty remarkable when you think about all of the great playoff performances in years past.

From the very first inning, it was clear that Schlittler brought his best stuff. The Red Sox were overmatched by his 100+ mph fastball, and he got stronger as the game progressed.

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Boston countered with a rookie of their own. Connelly Early got the call from Red Sox manager Alex Cora. He was also very impressive, striking out six batters and made the first trip through the lineup look easy. But the Red Sox defense fell apart in a four-run fourth inning for the Yankees.

The Red Sox bullpen once again shut the Yankees lineup down. But it did not matter with how Schlittler was pitching.

New York advances to face another division foe, the Toronto Blue Jays.

Game 1 is slated for Saturday afternoon north of the border. Things line up nicely for the Yankees, as Max Fried and Carlos Rodon can both pitch on normal rest. Meanwhile, the Jays, who have been resting, will likely counter with Kevin Gausman and Shane Bieber.