ST. PETERSBURG – The moments immediately following the roughest outing of Cam Schlittler’s young career weren’t what bothered him. The Yankees’ right-hander felt he’d handled that well, tipping his cap to the Tigers’ lineup, almost marveling that it had taken that long to be knocked around at this level.
What lingered were the comments Schlittler heard and read afterward, from online chirpers eager to build a bad night into something more. The American League All-Star responded with a stellar performance on Monday night, hurling eight innings in the Yankees’ 5-1 victory over the Rays at Tropicana Field.
"They want to say there's (expletive) regression because I have one bad outing," said Schlittler. "It was personal to go out there and just have a dominant start, and put this team in the right position."
Put simply, Schlittler delivered an ace-caliber performance for a team that desperately needed one. His teammates appreciated the effort – as Schlittler spoke with the media after Monday’s start, Jazz Chisholm Jr. passed by and squealed in a high-pitched voice: “You’re the best, Cam-Ron!”
It’s hard to argue. Schlittler’s 2.01 ERA leads the AL, and it’s the lowest by a Yankees pitcher through his first 19 starts of a season since Phil Niekro in 1984 (1.88).
“It was huge. I’m not surprised he bounced back,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He was dominant, he was efficient and it was a great way to get the road trip started.”
José Caballero homered twice, Ben Rice hit a late solo blast and Schlittler took care of the rest – holding Tampa Bay to three hits while showcasing velocity that touched triple digits.
“He’s great. He’s electric,” Caballero said. “It’s always special, every time he is pitching. We know it’s going to be a quick one. He’s going to attack the hitters. As a defender, we like that. We don’t stay in the field for too long.”
It was the first time in the Modern Era (since 1900) that the Yankees have won a game with all three of their hits being home runs, a feat last achieved by the Athletics against the Yanks on Aug. 12, 2001. It was the second game in franchise history in which they had three hits or more, all of them home runs; New York had five hits, all homers, on July 15, 2004.
“It just felt good to play well,” Boone said. “It’s still a grind for us offensively, but some long balls were huge.”
Having learned of his selection to the AL All-Star team earlier in the week, Schlittler is a leading candidate to start the July 14 contest at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park. That will depend on his throwing schedule coming off his next start, scheduled for Saturday at Washington.
This performance could only help guide the decision. Schlittler initially kept pace with Tampa Bay starter Griffin Jax, who retired the first 13 batters he faced before losing the strike zone for consecutive walks.
Caballero made him pay, crushing a three-run homer that he punctuated with a one-handed bat toss. It was all Schlittler needed; Richie Palacios touched Schlittler for a run-scoring single in the fifth, but otherwise, the Rays had a difficult time putting bat to ball.
“I think it’s the carry of his pitch,” said Tampa Bay’s Jonathan Aranda. “When you pair that with 100 mph, and then he’s doing it consistently one through eight [innings], it’s tough to square up.”
Schlittler retired eight straight before Palacios’ one-out single in the eighth. He then finished his night clean, including his eighth strikeout of the evening. Schlittler walked none, throwing 72 of 101 pitches for strikes.
“I feel like I dedicated myself this week to just kind of being more locked in, to put the team in position to win against the first-place team in our division,” Schlittler said. “It’s big. I think we played great ball tonight. We’ve got three more games to go.”
Caballero added a second homer in the eighth off Chris Roycroft, setting a career high with 10 blasts. Rice hit his team-leading 25th homer in the ninth.
The Yankees believe Caballero gains motivation from playing against the Rays, who dealt him to New York at the Trade Deadline last season. As the Red Sox experienced in last year’s AL Wild Card Series, Schlittler finds his edge from other sources.
Sometimes, it can be as simple as a stat line, like surrendering a career-high six runs over four innings to Detroit. But Schlittler continues to prove he can squeeze motivation from the glowing device in his pocket, too.
“You have one bad outing, it happens,” Schlittler said. “I’m just making sure that I continue to go out there and use my strengths and have that confidence.”