ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Derek Jeter is the ultimate Yankees icon, and when he speaks, the Bronx has no choice but to listen.
Cam Schlittler has spent the season turning road starts into home games. Monday night may test that more than any start yet.
The Yankees right-hander takes the ball for Game 2 of the American League Division Series at Tropicana Field. The Yankees trail the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 after a one-hit, 1-0 loss Saturday.
Schlittler, 25, finished the regular season 14-6 with a 1.95 ERA and 239 strikeouts in 193 2/3 innings. He is the favorite for the AL Cy Young Award.
His road numbers stand out even more. He posted a 1.16 ERA in 17 starts away from Yankee Stadium.
He opened the postseason with a career-high 117 pitches and 10 strikeouts in a Wild Card Series win over the Boston Red Sox. Thirty-two of those pitches were curveballs, also a career high. Boston swung at 16 of them and missed eight.
The curveball has become a growing weapon. Former Yankees manager Joe Girardi noted on the NBC broadcast that Schlittler threw it 7% of the time in the first half and 14% in the second half. Its average velocity has climbed from 84.2 mph in March and April to 85.8 mph this postseason.
It pairs with three distinct fastball shapes that made up 89.2% of his pitches during the regular season.
Catcher Austin Wells said the Yankees clubhouse feels settled with Schlittler lined up next.
“That’s been our guy all year. And yeah, we’re looking forward to Monday,” Wells said.
Schlittler said the extra day between starts helped his body bounce back from the heavy workload against Boston.
“I felt like I recovered good,” Schlittler said. “Luckily, I’ve got the extra day of rest this time through. That kind of takes care of most of it.”
The confidence inside the room is real. The stakes outside it just got louder.
Schlittler’s plan against the Rays
Schlittler said he knows what Tampa Bay will try to do. The Rays lead with contact and speed rather than strikeouts.
“Their brand of baseball is putting the ball in play and putting pressure on the defense,” Schlittler said.
That makes long counts dangerous. Schlittler said the priority is to limit them and avoid free bases. He also said he does not need to chase strikeouts.
“I feel like if I need to get one, I’m going to be able to do that,” Schlittler said. “But I’m always willing to sacrifice strikeouts for weak contact quick outs.”
He also expects a split crowd, with plenty of Yankees fans traveling to the Trop.
“In some ways, you are, to an extent, kind of playing at home,” Schlittler said.
Legend Jeter’s warning
Jeter, the former Yankees captain, said Sunday on Fox Sports that Game 2 cannot be treated as anything less than an elimination game. He put Schlittler’s name at the center of it.
“It is a must-win. That’s the approach you have to have. It is a must-win. You have Schlittler on the mound. You must win that game,” Jeter said.
Jeter pointed to the math of a best-of-five series. Games 3 and 4 move to Yankee Stadium, but he said the Yankees cannot count on that.
“You cannot go down 0-2,” Jeter said.
He also noted what the Yankees are missing. Aaron Judge is off the roster with a calf strain, and Giancarlo Stanton has one at-bat since April.
“From the first inning on, you have to pay attention to detail,” Jeter said.
The message lands hardest on the pitcher. With the Yankees lineup held to one hit in Game 1, Schlittler may again have little margin for error.
The efficiency question
Schlittler has faced the Rays three times this season. The results were strong. The pitch counts were not always.
He allowed three runs over five innings April 12, needing 85 pitches. On July 6 at the Trop, he threw eight innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts and no walks. On Sept. 24, he allowed one run over three innings in a planned 70-pitch tuneup.
Combined, that is five earned runs in 16 innings, a 2.81 ERA, with 21 strikeouts and three walks. The Rays have managed only one extra-base hit off him all season, an April triple.
A breakdown shows the catch. In the two starts with known pitch counts, Schlittler averaged 17 pitches an inning in April and more than 23 an inning in September. At that rate, a 100-pitch night lasts barely five innings.
Against a lineup built to foul off pitches and extend at-bats, that may matter as much as velocity.
Jeter has seen 0-2 before
Jeter’s warning carries history. He was the shortstop when the 2001 Yankees lost the first two games of the ALDS at home to the Oakland Athletics, then won three straight. His flip play at home plate came in the Game 3 win.
The 2017 Yankees also rallied from 0-2 in the ALDS against Cleveland.
Both comebacks show it can be done. Jeter’s point is that no one should want to try.
Schlittler faces Rays right-hander Freddy Peralta at 8 p.m. EDT Monday. A Yankees win would send the series to the Bronx tied 1-1.
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