For a fleeting moment, Boston Red Sox fans were giddy with the thought of sending the New York Yankees to an early exit from Major League Baseball postseason play.

Following the brilliant pitching of ace left-hander Garrett Crochet ( 11 strikeouts, four hits, no walks over 7.2 innings) and the daredevil, high-wire performance of closer Aroldis Chapman who escaped a bases loaded, no-out situation by striking out Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton before getting the final two outs to preserve a 3-1 victory and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.

Game 2 featured a pitching matchup between Yankee-killer Brayan Bello (five career wins against New York and Carlos Rodon. Bello struggled with his control from the start and found himself being yanked after 2.1 innings, with the Sox’s trailing 2-0. The key blow for the Yankees came from a 2-run homer by Ben Rice, who was born and raised in Cohasset, Mass.

The seesaw affair was decided by a stellar defensive play by Yankee second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. that saved two runs from scoring in the top of the 8th inning. Chisholm placed his name into New York Yankees lore by scoring from first base on a double by Yankees catcher Austin Wells in the bottom of the 8th inning. The Bronx Bombers would take Game 2 by a final score of 4-3, setting the scene for the third and deciding game of the series. The Sox had a recent positive history on their side, considering their three postseason wins over the Yanks since their Babe Ruth Curse-breaking event in 2004.

Their 10-4 regular-season record and Game 1 triumph still put them in a favored position going into Game 3. The problem facing the men of Fenway was that Lucas Giolito, their regularly scheduled No. 3 starter, was shelved due to inflammation in his right pitching arm.

The Sox would have to place their hopes in rookie left-hander Connelly Early, who had limited Major League experience after being brought up from the minors on Sept. 9. The Yankees would counter with hard-throwing right-hander Cam Schlittler, who had a 4-3 regular season record with a 2.96 earned run average. Schlittler, like Rice, was raised in Massachusetts and whose father is the current police chief in Needham, put his name in the Major League Baseball postseason record books (as well as in famed New York Yankees lore) by pitching the game of his young life.

Schlittler stoned the Sox, striking out 12, giving up just five hits, with no walks — a first in postseason history for a rookie in his first postseason game — as the Yanks blanked the Sox 4-0 to advance to the American League Division Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Schlittler postgame: “I went out there and threw as hard as I could, for as long as I could. My stuff was good right from the start, especially my fastball. Once my teammates gave me a lead, I was determined to hold it as long as I could. I’m somewhat overwhelmed by the magnitude of the moment, and kind of blacked out when discussing my work during postgame interviews. As far as record books are concerned, I am more concerned that my team won a critical playoff baseball game. This is a very special night in my life, one that I will always remember. The irony of all is that I was raised as a Red Sox fan. And now I am a hero to New York Yankee fans. Go figure.”

Yankees Manager Aaron Boone (who ranks very high on the Red Sox Villain List; something about an 11th-inning, pennant-winning home run off of the late Tim Wakefield in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series) assessed his young pitcher’s work: “He was strong from start to finish. I considered pulling him after 7 innings, but he showed no signs of fatigue and was throwing strikes with high velocity. So I decided to go out for the 8th inning. And he finished his night with a flourish.”

“Schlittler was the real deal. He dominated us. His fastball was electric like Garrett Crochet’s in Game 1. That kind of dominant fastball is hard to catch up to, no least hit.”

That is no consolation for Red Sox fans who saw their team suffer another heartbreaking loss to their hated rivals from New York — this time becoming the first team in Major League Baseball postseason history to lose a 3-game series after winning Game 1. And it is also no consolation to Sox fans that the Yanks have gotten their heads handed to them in the first two games of their best-of-five ALDS (embarrassing 10-1 and 13-7 losses as of this writing). Schlittler is scheduled to start Game 3 — another must-win situation for the Yankees.

The old expression: “Cam Schlittler will never have to pay for a drink in New York,” following his huge game against the Red Sox in a “win or go home” scenario, applies here. The same cannot be said of him in his home state of Massachusetts. At this moment, I don’t think he cares about that. His thoughts and the team’s are centered on the Toronto Blue Jays in yet another “win or go home” situation for the New York Yankees.