Cam Schlittler's dazzling debut, Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s two homers give Yankees third straight win
Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlittler pitches against the Seattle Mariners during the second inning at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday. Credit: Brad Penner
The Yankees’ need to go get a strong starting pitcher before the trade deadline feels a little less urgent today than it did yesterday. Rookie Cam Schlittler, who stands 6-6, is responsible for that.
Schlittler, the top pitching prospect in the organization, was summoned to fill the yawning void in the Yankees’ starting rotation created when Clarke Schmidt suffered a season-ending elbow injury last week. The 24-year-old righthander met the moment by turning in an electrifying big league debut Wednesday night by pitching into the sixth inning as the Yankees topped the Mariners, 9-6, before 35,651 at the Stadium.
“It’s been my goal my whole life so it’s really good to go out there and put the team in a position to win and just kind of live out that dream,” said Schlitter, who will remain in the rotation after the All-Star break.
The Yankees (51-41) have won three in a row for the first time since June 12 when they completed a sweep of the Royals in Kansas City. The victory, paired with the first-place Blue Jays’ loss to the White Sox, pulled them within 2 1⁄2 games of first place in the AL East.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a pair of homers and drove in four runs, Aaron Judge had a key two-run double and Jasson Dominguez had three hits in the Yankees’ 13-hit attack. The Yankees scored three runs in the first inning and never trailed, though they did have to persevere as reliever Jonathan Loaisiga gave up a pair of two-run homers.
Over their first 91 games, no Yankees pitcher had thrown a pitch that clocked better than the 98.5 mph recorded by Yerry de los Santos. By the end of the Mariners’ first inning, that was the seventh fastest pitch. By the end of Schlittler’s 75-pitch outing, he’d thrown the club’s seven highest-velocity pitches this season.
“You see the live fastball . . . You see his stuff really plays,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I thought his . . . calm and his poise and focus was excellent.”
“He was sick,” Chisholm said. “It was sick watching the ball from second base, like standing right behind him, and] seeing the way the ball was moving. . . . watching how the hitters was even reacting to some of the pitches.”
His first career strikeout came in the first inning against AL home run leader Cal Raleigh.
Schlittler exited to a raucous standing ovation in the top of the sixth inning with the Yankees ahead 6-2, one man out and one man on before Loaisiga gave up his first two-run shot to the first batter he faced. When Devin Williams finished Seattle off for his 14th save, Schlittler had his first career victory.
“It’s loud,” Schlittler said of the Stadium ovation. “It’s really loud. So it feels really good.”
For the night he was charged with three runs over his 5 1⁄3 innings on four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. He did allow a pair of solo home runs, to J.P. Crawford and Jorge Polanco.
Luke Weaver replaced Loaisiga and got five outs to set the table for Williams.
Cody Bellinger, Giancarlo Stanton and Chisholm each had an RBI in the first inning. Chisholm’s first home run landed in the screen above monument park in the third inning and had the Yankees ahead 4-1. His second home run was a no-doubt two-run shot to right field in the fifth that put the Yankees ahead 6-2. Chisholm has 17 home runs for the season.
Chisholm has seven homers in his last 12 games. Asked what he likes best about how he’s swinging the bat, he replied “hard contact, consistently making hard contact and barreling up all the balls.”
“What I love is he’s getting more patient,” Boone said, “and that’s, for me, the next level for him.”
Judge’s two-run double was the big blow in a three-run rally in the Yankees’ sixth.
In the immediate aftermath of Schmidt’s injury, the Yankees ultimately concluded Schlitter was the call-up option that gave them the best chance to win. Between Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre he pitched 75 2⁄3 innings to a 2.82 ERA with 99 strikeouts.
How long Schlittler sticks with the active roster — or is part of a pennant chase — remains to be seen.
“He earned this opportunity — it’s not just because there’s a bunch of guys down, but because he’s absolutely the guy that’s put up the numbers and done the work . . . at the higher levels,” Boone said. “It’s because he’s got a big arm and he continues to get better.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
More Yankees headlines
