Yankees

If the Yankees Want October Success, They Better Start Scoring for Cam Schlittler

By ••4 min read
If the Yankees Want October Success, They Better Start Scoring for Cam Schlittler

AI Overview

Cam Schlittler has delivered a 2.04 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 210 strikeouts in 171.2 innings, but the Yankees have scored just 124 runs in his 29 starts. New York has scored three or fewer runs in 13 of those outings, leaving Schlittler 12-6 with 11 no-decisions. With the postseason approaching, the Yankees need to support their ace, starting September 8 against the last-place Rockies and 0-6 starter Gabriel Hughes.

Cam Schlittler is doing everything the Yankees could possibly ask him to do.

The 25-year-old right-hander is putting together a season that belongs in the same conversation as the best pitching seasons in baseball. A 2.04 ERA. A 0.94 WHIP. 210 strikeouts in 171.2 innings. An All-Star selection. A legitimate Cy Young case.

And somehow, he is only 12-6.

That record doesn’t tell the story of Schlittler’s season.

The real story is how often the Yankees’ offense has failed to give their ace even a little breathing room.

New York has scored just 124 runs in Schlittler’s 29 starts, an average of 4.28 runs per game. The Yankees are averaging 4.52 runs per game overall, so their offense actually produces less when one of their best pitchers takes the mound.

Look at the bigger problem.

The Yankees have scored 3 runs or fewer in 13 of Schlittler’s 29 starts. That’s nearly 45 percent of his outings. Five times, they’ve scored exactly 1 run.

That’s not bad luck anymore. That’s a pattern.

The Yankees are 18-11 in games Schlittler starts, but 11 of those games ended without a decision for him. Think about that. Eleven times, a pitcher with a 2.04 ERA and 210 strikeouts has walked off the mound without getting credit for a win because the offense couldn’t finish the job.

We’ve already seen this movie too many times.

On August 9 against Atlanta, Schlittler struck out 11 over 7 innings and left the game tied 1-1. The Yankees eventually lost 2-1 in 10 innings.

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On August 15 in Toronto, he allowed just 1 run over 5.1 innings. The Yankees scored 1 run.

Then came September 2 in Anaheim.

Schlittler went 8 innings, allowed 1 run, struck out 9 and didn’t walk a batter. The Yankees eventually needed a 10th-inning rally to win 6-3.

Great that they won. But why did it have to get that far?

In Schlittler’s last 7 starts, the Yankees have scored 1, 3, 1, 1, 7, 5 and 6 runs.

There are your answers.

When Schlittler is dominating, the Yankees too often go quiet.

And that’s a dangerous formula with the postseason now only weeks away.

The Yankees are 81-62 and sit 4 games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East, while maintaining a comfortable cushion in the Wild Card race. But October is a completely different animal.

One-run games. Extra innings. One swing deciding an entire series.

You can’t waste elite pitching in October.

Schlittler’s road numbers make this even more interesting. His ERA away from Yankee Stadium is an absurd 1.14. At Yankee Stadium, it’s 3.41.

And yet some of the lowest-scoring games of his season have come in the Bronx, where the Yankees should theoretically be able to provide their ace with more offensive support.

That’s where this team has to wake up.

Aaron Judge’s return is approaching, and getting the captain back would obviously change the complexion of this lineup. But the Yankees can’t sit around waiting for Judge to save everything.

Ben Rice. Cody Bellinger. Jazz Chisholm Jr. And everybody else in that lineup has to understand what happens when Schlittler takes the mound.

Those games should be treated differently.

Don’t waste at-bats. Don’t let innings disappear. Don’t let a struggling opposing pitcher off the hook. When you get runners on base, bring them home.

It sounds simple because it is.

And Tuesday presents the Yankees with exactly the type of opportunity they need.

Schlittler is scheduled to take the mound September 8 at 7:05 p.m. ET against the Colorado Rockies at Yankee Stadium. Colorado is 55-88 and sits last in the NL West. The Rockies are expected to send Gabriel Hughes to the mound, who enters with an 0-6 record and a 6.19 ERA.

This is not the night to make Schlittler work for every run.

This is the night the Yankees should jump on Colorado early, build a lead and let their ace pitch with a comfortable margin.

Give him 4 runs. Give him 5. Give him 6.

Don’t make another dominant pitching performance turn into a coin flip.

And let’s not forget what Schlittler has already shown when the stakes are highest.

Last October, in a win-or-go-home Wild Card game against Boston, he threw 8 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts and 0 walks.

He didn’t blink.

Now he’s even better.

The Yankees have a legitimate No. 1 starter. A young ace who can take a playoff game and completely take it away from the other team.

But an ace can only do so much.

Schlittler has done his part all season.

Now the Yankees’ offense needs to do theirs.

Because once October arrives, wasting a 2.04 ERA isn’t going to be frustrating.

It could be the difference between advancing and going home.

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