Right-hander Clarke Schmidt knew he had to devise a new strategy to counter the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on Sunday afternoon. He desperately needed it to overturn his first four outings that recorded 14 runs in 14 1/3 innings.
It began well giving Clarke Schmidt his career-best strikeout record. However, his tempo fizzled out and in 5.2 innings of work against the Blue Jays, the starter suffered the loss after giving up three runs (all unearned) on three hits and a walk. However, he got eight outs.
Clarke Schmidt was pitching a gem until the fifth. Through five innings on Sunday, he kept the Blue Jays scoreless, retiring the first 13 batters he faced. However, in the sixth inning, everything went wrong. After an Anthony Volpe error in the sixth, he lost control and gave up three runs on back-to-back home runs from Vladimir Guerrero and Dalton Varsho. And Toronto defeated the Yankees 5-1. The Yankees lost two games this past weekend, making them the last Major League team to suffer a series loss.
Nevertheless, Clarke Schmidt’s performance was a step in the right direction, and he is expected to stay in the Yankees’ rotation until Luis Severino and Carlos Rodon can make a full recovery. Through five starts this season, the 27-year-old’s ERA dropped to 6.30 with a 1.55 WHIP and 24:6 K:BB.
“It’s only April. Onward and upward,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We start a tough road trip [Monday]. Overall, I think we are playing well while we are hoping and waiting for the guys to get back. But it has allowed other guys to step up, and they have done that. We just have to keep pushing right now. It’s tough, and [hopefully we] keep grinding away offensively.”
A career high for Clarke Schmidt
He had a career-high eight strikeouts while allowing just three hits. Matt Chapman’s double with one out in the fifth inning was the first single he gave up. The Yankees boasted about his cutter during the spring training, but Clarke Schmidt primarily used his fastball and sinker because Toronto’s lineup included several right-handed hitters.
Clarke Schmidt had to adjust his outlook as a result. That required being combative and going after the Blue JJayshitters.
“I flipped a switch in my mind,” Schmidt said. “Coming up, I was always aggressive, kind of like a fierce competitor, attacking at all times. I felt like I strayed away from that my first few outings. Getting back to that was my main thing.”
Because he wasn’t pitching well before Sunday, Clarke Schmidt also felt his back was up against the wall.
“O wanted to go deeper in games. I wanted to give my team a chance to win, and I was [angry] that I wasn’t doing it,” Schmidt said. “I felt like I [had] to carry that rage into today and the future and be able to be on the attack and be aggressive.”
The Yankees were beaten 5-1 by the Blue Jays, but Clarke Schmidt retired the first 13 batters he faced, set a new career high in strikeouts, and allowed just three unearned runs on two home runs in the sixth inning, which turned a 0-0 game into a 3-0 deficit. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. started the scoring with a two-run liner into the left-field bleachers, and two pitches later, Daulton Varsho blasted a homer into the second deck in right field.
Clarke Schmidt was optimistic following a strong start that saw his ERA drop from 8.79 to 6.30.
“I think it came down to mentality,” he stated. “I aspired to aggression. I desired to launch an assault. I was merely trying to change my viewpoint. As I advanced (through the minors), I was constantly combative. At all times, I was an aggressive competitor on the attack. My main goal was to return to it because I felt like I had gotten off track after my first few outings.”
Before Matt Chapman’s singles with one out in the Blue Jays’ fifth inning, Clarke Schmidt (0-2) was on his way to a perfect game. After that, Whit Merrifield walked to put two runners on, but Alejandro Kirk was struck out for the second out.
Clarke Schmidt ended the inning by retiring Danny Jansen on a first pitch, a can-of-corn flyball to center after pitching coach Matt Blake had visited the mound. George Springer reached with one out at shortstop in the sixth inning for the Blue Jays and Anthony Volpe erred.
“Ten out of 10 times he’s making that plate,” Clarke Schmidt said of Volpe.
Not this time and the Yankees suffered as a result of the rookie’s first error.
When second baseman Gleyber Torres made a terrific play to turn Bo Bichette’s hard hit into a forceout that nearly resulted in a double play, Clarke Schmidt almost managed to escape the inning. However, Guerrero responded with a two-run home run to give the Blue Jays a 2-0 advantage. Varsho then increased the score to 3-0 by hitting a cutter that was over the plate and to the right.
Schmidt fizzled out
Eventually, Clarke Schmidt’s cutter and sweeper forced him to leave the game. In the sixth inning, Anthony Volpe made a mistake that allowed George Springer to get on base with one out. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. launched a two-run home run over the left-field wall after Springer was eliminated on a fielder’s choice.
“I was patient and tried not to do too much,” Guerrero said through an interpreter. “The first and second at-bats, I was just looking for a pitch and didn’t get it, then I missed one. In that third at-bat, I was looking for that pitch and I put good contact on it. You guys know what happened.”
Boone didn’t think about taking Clarke Schmidt out of the game when Guerrero went to bat. But soon Schmidt’s day ended there on an especially depressing note, even though his fifth start of the year was also his longest and most successful. The right-hander struck out eight Jays, a new career high while throwing 76 pitches over 5.2 innings. Due to injury, he was one of the Yankees’ three cup starts. Despite giving up a season-low three hits, Clarke Schmidt’s ERA decreased to 6.30, but the two long balls proved costly.
Guerrero was followed by Daulton Varsho, who hit a home run to the second deck in right field. Due to the error, the three runs ultimately turned out to be unearned, but they still put an end to Clarke Schmidt’s afternoon. Michael King replaced him in the game, and he ended the frame by getting Chapman to strike out on a foul tip.
“It leaves a sour taste in your mouth,” Schmidt said. “Overall, I’m happy with the progression that I made. I’ll continue to take this one on to the next one and start getting on a little roll here.”
Right-hander Kevin Gausman of the Blue Jays ultimately outdueled Clarke Schmidt, pitching seven innings without allowing a run while allowing only three hits and striking out 11 Yankees.
The fifth inning was when he played at his best. Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza, and Kyle Higashioka were all struck out by Gausman after DJ LeMahieu doubled to start the game.
Clarke Schmidt, who was taken out of the game following the second home run, was angry with himself for not throwing a pitch to end the inning. The Yankees are likely to keep him in the rotation at least until Luis Severino or Carlos Rodon are activated off the injured list, but this was still significant growth for the pitcher.
