NEW YORK — The New York Yankees blanked the Cincinnati Reds 5-0 on Friday night, a win built on a record start and a pair of early home runs. By the time it ended, a Yankees pitcher had etched his name next to a legend.
The victory pushed New York to 45-28, its eighth win in nine games. Cincinnati dropped to 35-38.
Chisholm answers two days after a painful exit
Chisholm had left Thursday’s game against the White Sox mid-at-bat after fouling a ball off himself in the fourth inning, doubling over as trainers rushed to check on him. He was back in the lineup Friday and made his presence felt immediately.
His leadoff homer in the second inning was his 11th of the season. It gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead and set the tone for the inning that followed.
Chisholm is batting .229 this season with 11 home runs, 30 RBIs and 20 stolen bases through 70 games.
Rice connects again in the second
Two batters after Chisholm’s homer, Rice came to the plate with runners on base. He drove a pitch out for a three-run home run, his 21st of the season, pushing the score to 4-0.
The homer kept Rice atop the Yankees in that category. He ranks third in the American League behind Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, who has 24, and Minnesota’s Byron Buxton, who has 23.
Rice entered Saturday hitting .295 with 49 RBIs and a 175 wRC+, according to FanGraphs. He ranks second in the majors with a .616 slugging percentage and a 1.005 OPS.
Schlittler delivers a career night
The headline performance, though, belonged to the pitcher’s mound. Cam Schlittler struck out a career-high 13 batters over six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits with no walks.
The right-hander reached double-digit strikeouts for the first time this season, getting to 10 punchouts before the fourth inning had even finished. He needed only 96 pitches to do it, 66 of them for strikes.
With the gem, the 25-year-old became the youngest pitcher in Yankees history to record 13 strikeouts with zero walks in a game, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs. It is the kind of feat that ties Schlittler to the deepest corners of the franchise record book.
An ERA mark dating back to Whitey Ford
Schlittler’s outing did more than produce strikeouts. It also reset where he stands among Yankees pitching legends for ERA through this point in a season.
His ERA dropped to 1.71 across 16 starts, the lowest mark by a Yankees pitcher through his first 16 outings of a season since Whitey Ford posted a 1.47 ERA in 1964. Only Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski, at 1.45, has a lower ERA among all major league starters.
Misiorowski’s number had been even lower before Friday, sitting at 1.34 before he allowed two runs in a loss to the Atlanta Braves. That leaves Schlittler firmly in the conversation as one of the best pitchers anywhere in the sport.
Boone makes the case for an All-Star nod
Schlittler’s manager did not hold back when the topic turned to recognition. Asked whether Schlittler deserved to start the All-Star Game for the American League, Aaron Boone offered a strong endorsement.
“I think he can make the case that he’s been the best pitcher in the American League,” Boone said.
Boone also revealed he kept an eye on Schlittler late in the outing, wary that the right-hander might start overthrowing in pursuit of his first double-digit strikeout game of the year. The vigilance proved unnecessary, as Schlittler stayed efficient and finished the job in six clean innings.
Across his 16 starts this season, Schlittler has allowed more than two runs only four times. Cincinnati joined a long list of teams that managed almost nothing against him.
His lone rough outing came June 2 against the Cleveland Guardians, when he gave up a season-high four runs. Beyond that blemish, limiting opponents to a run or less has become close to routine for the right-hander.
Friday’s gem fit that pattern perfectly. The Reds managed only four hits and never threatened to put a run on the board against him.
A complete win for a surging club
The 5-0 final reflected a complete team performance for the Yankees, blending the power surge from Chisholm and Rice with a historic pitching effort. Both sides of the game clicked at the same time.
For a Yankees team already sitting atop the American League East, Friday’s shutout served as fresh proof that the rotation can carry the club just as easily as the lineup can.
The Yankees will start Will Warren in the second game of the series on Saturday. First pitch at Yankee Stadium is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET.
Warren has a 7-1 record and a 3.47 ERA this season. The Reds will start left-hander Andrew Abbott, who has a 4-4 record and a 3.95 ERA.
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