NEW YORK — Every one in the Yankees ranks though it would be Aaron Judge’s return game. But Cam Schlittler made it his own with the kind of pitching that had carried them to victory.
The right-hander struck out 10 in seven innings as New York beat Colorado 5-3 at Yankee Stadium. Judge played six innings in right field, then watched his replacement, Heliot Ramos, deliver the decisive offensive blow. The contrast put the Yankees’ changing balance of power on display.
Schlittler retired the first six Rockies and struck out four of them. Adael Amador interrupted the early dominance with a leadoff homer in the third, tying the score at 1-1. The Yankees regained the lead in the fifth when Ryan McMahon doubled home George Lombard Jr. against rookie Gabriel Hughes. Schlittler allowed only two more hits, retired 11 consecutive batters after the homer and completed his outing without issuing a walk.
Ramos entered for Judge in the seventh and hit a three-run homer in the eighth to stretch the Yankees’ lead to 5-1. Colorado’s Hunter Goodman answered with a two-run shot off Tim Hill in the ninth, but David Bednar struck out Mickey Moniak for his 32nd save.
Schlittler improved to 13-6, Hughes fell to 0-7, and New York moved to 82-62. The Yankees remained four games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East and three ahead of Boston for the top wild card.
The Yankees went 45-39 during Judge’s 84-game absence after his right rib stress fracture, a stretch that tested the lineup and pitching staff. Schlittler emerged as the most dependable part of the Yankees’ pitching response.
His latest start lowered his American League-leading ERA to 2.01 and extended his franchise record to 20 starts allowing no more than one run. New York has won 19 of his 30 starts. He has allowed one run or fewer in six straight outings and eight of his last nine. The reliability also explains why Judge viewed Tuesday’s limited defensive assignment differently from Boone.
Schlittler’s fastball turns confidence into results
Statcast credited Schlittler’s four-seam fastball with 13 swings and misses and seven strikeouts Tuesday. He threw it half the time, pairing it with a cutter that gave hitters another hard offering to consider. His four-seamer averaged 160.8 km/h (99.9 mph) in the opening inning. All four of his double-digit strikeout outings this year have come without a walk.
Ramos, who faced Schlittler before joining the Yankees from San Francisco at the trade deadline, offered a hitter’s perspective on the fastball-heavy approach.
“He’s gross,” Ramos said.
The outing also continued a command rebound. Schlittler walked 11 batters over 17 innings during a three-start stretch in August. His next two starts have produced 15 innings, five hits, two runs, 19 strikeouts and no walks. Statistician Katie Sharp identified that combination of at least 19 strikeouts, no walks and five or fewer hits as a Yankees first over a two-game span.
The 200-inning question becomes an October calculation
Cam Schlittler has thrown 178⅔ innings in his first full major league season, third-most in MLB through Tuesday. He needs 21⅓ innings to reach 200, with only 18 regular-season games remaining. The Yankees must determine how much work they want from him before a potential postseason run.
Three additional seven-inning starts would leave Schlittler at 199⅔ innings. Four would put him at 206⅔. Those are projections, not Boone’s announced rotation plans. The Yankees have not announced a shutdown, innings limit or reduced workload.
Schlittler needed 99 pitches to complete eight innings against the Angels on Sept. 2 and followed with seven against Colorado. Boone must weigh that efficiency against the cumulative demands of a season in which Schlittler has become a front-line starter rather than a temporary rotation replacement.
Two milestones and historic ERA remain in reach
Schlittler’s 220 strikeouts match Luis Severino’s 2018 total and leave him 30 shy of 250. Reaching that mark would require 10 strikeouts per start over three outings, or 7.5 over four. Neither total is guaranteed. His seven starts of at least seven innings with one run or fewer demonstrate his durability.
Schlittler and Ron Guidry are the only Yankees pitchers with at least 200 strikeouts and an ERA below 2.50 through their first 30 starts of a season. His 2.01 ERA also puts him in historical company with Spud Chandler, Guidry and Stan Bahnsen. A single poor outing could still alter his final ERA substantially.
Schlittler’s sustained run prevention has kept him prominent in the AL Cy Young race with Toronto’s Dylan Cease. Boone’s assessment after Tuesday’s start was emphatic, though the award remains undecided.
“He’s been the best pitcher in the league all year,” Boone said.
Judge’s remark reflects confidence in Yankees ace
Judge was explaining why he wanted to remain in right field after Boone told him he probably would not finish the game. His reasoning was that Schlittler’s dominance would leave him with little defensive work. The captain said he had made that point directly to his manager.
“That’s what I kind of told Booney when he told me before that I probably wouldn’t finish the game. ‘We got Cam on the mound, so I’m probably not going to get a lot of action anyway.’”
The comment was a vote of confidence in Schlittler, not evidence of a dispute with the pitcher.
Judge had no defensive opportunities in six innings. Boone followed the planned restriction, and Ramos’ home run later helped secure the victory. The captain’s trust in Schlittler and the manager’s caution were separate parts of the same game plan.
Sunday’s Mets test could shape postseason rotation
Schlittler’s next start is scheduled for Sunday’s Subway Series finale against the Mets in the Bronx. The assignment remains subject to change. It offers another test against a contender rather than the last-place Rockies.
The Yankees also must order a potential postseason rotation that includes Gerrit Cole, Max Fried and Carlos Rodon. Schlittler has become a legitimate candidate to lead that group. No Game 1 assignment has been announced, and the club has not secured a postseason berth.
New York’s priorities remain the division race, the top wild card and keeping its strongest pitchers available for October. Judge’s remark captured how far Schlittler has moved from prospect to a starter the captain expects to control a game. Sunday will provide another measure of how much the Yankees can ask of him down the stretch.
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