Yankees Could Be In Trouble With Red Sox Win

Yes, this is putting the cart before the horse. But if the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of their American League Wild Card Series, trouble is awaiting them in the form of the Toronto Blue Jays.

"This wild-card series between the Red Sox and Yankees is playing out in the best possible way for the Toronto Blue Jays," ESPN's Buster Onley reports. "By the end of Game 3, both NYY and BOS will likely exhaust their bullpens, key relievers, and have to deal with pitching puzzles -- especially the Red Sox, because of the injury to Lucas Giolito."

In losing Game 1, Yankees manager Aaron Boone used Max Fried, Luke Weaver, Fernando Cruz, Devin Williams, David Bednar and Tim Hill.

In winning Game 2, Boone used Carlos Rodon, Cruz (again), Williams (again) and Bednar (again).

Game 3 will be all hands on deck with rookie Cam Schlittler taking the mound for his 15th career start. If Boone has to blow through the bullpen to beat the Red Sox, the Yankees won't have much time to recover for the American League Division Series, which starts Saturday in Toronto.

Keep in mind, the Blue Jays won the season series from the Yankees, allowing Toronto to claim the American League East division title and a bye for the wild-card round of the playoffs. Going north of the border with a tapped out pitching staff doesn't exactly make for a promising situation.

So the pressure will be on Schlittler in Game 3 to give the Yankees as many innings as possible. He finished the regular season with 73 innings pitched over 14 big-league starts. That averages a little more than five innings per appearance.