Wednesday was the second time this postseason the Yankees leaned on rookie flamethrower Cam Schlittler to save their season. And while the young right-hander did just that in the Wild Card series, there would be no repeat result in Game 4 of the ALDS against the Blue Jays.
But that's not for a lack of trying on the part of Schlittler.
Schlittler gave the Yankees their best outing from their starter in this series. He threw 88 pitches (69 strikes) through 6.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on eight hits and no walks. For most teams, that's enough to win, but the offense fell flat against Toronto's bullpen game as New York fell 5-2.
"Schlitt was good tonight," manager Aaron Boone said after the game. "Didn’t have the dominant swing-and-miss stuff. I thought pitched really effectively, was filling up the strike zone. I thought he made a lot of key pitches when he needed to, mixed well. Gives up a run in the first inning but doesn't flinch. I thought he was really efficient with obviously a good offensive club.
I thought he threw the ball really well tonight. Not the dominant one that he came off of, but he gave us a really good chance to win a baseball game."
In Game 3 against the Red Sox, Schlittler had one of the best postseason pitching performances by a Yankee, striking out 12 batters. On Wednesday, he could only get two outs via K, as the contact-heavy Blue Jays fouled pitches off and put the ball in play constantly. Again, as Boone said, Schlittler pitched well enough to win, but the sting of the loss is not lost on the team or the 24-year-old.
"It’s frustrating. I’ve only been here for three months, can’t imagine how some of the guys feel who have been here the whole season," Schlittler said of the feeling in the locker room after the loss. "You have to learn from it and didn’t feel like we were in an elimination game, I felt like we were playing good ball. Fuel for next year."
Schlittler went 1-1 with a 1.26 ERA and 14 strikeouts in his two postseason starts. If you combine the regular season and postseason, including Wednesday's start, Schlittler allowed two or fewer runs in 12 of his 16 starts.
In the first three games of the ALDS, Luis Gil, Max Fried and Carlos Rodon allowed 15 runs across eight innings pitched. Schlittler was the only one of the four to record an out in the fourth inning. While it didn't go New York's way, the future seems bright for Schlittler who broke out to the baseball world in this postseason.
Schlittler, who was called up in July, said he developed as a player, person and teammate while with the Yankees and that he will use this postseason loss to fuel him going into 2026.
"The end goal is the same. Just try to fuel the fire and take it into your offseason training and get ready for spring training and get ready for next season," he said. "It’s not the way we wanted to end, but I didn’t feel like our backs were against the wall. A lot of people cherished their time here, that’s the greatest thing about the Yankees, we are so close and we developed as teammates. It’s not going to be easy, the game is going to always take from you. Have to learn from it and take it into next season."
"Foundationally, we are excited about Cam and his future and what he can become in our rotation moving forward," Boone said of Schlittler's future. "He had a phenomenal season and finished strong tonight."
If Schlittler can take that next step, the Yankees will have a formidable rotation heading into October. A returning Gerrit Cole will anchor the rotation that will feature Fried, Rodon and Schlittler. There may not be another team with a better starting quartet than that.
Read the full article here