Cam Schlittler allowed a season-high five runs, four of them earned, over 4 1/3 innings in the New York Yankees’ 9-4 loss to the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium on June 3. The right-hander had not given up more than two runs in any start for over a month and had been among the early frontrunners for the American League Cy Young Award.
“I’m not afraid to admit that I was probably out there thinking about some stuff with the four-seam [fastball],” Schlittler said. “The mechanics just kind of got away from me a little bit there. I wasn’t going out there competing, I was just trying to get guys out.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “We didn’t hold them down enough tonight. We gave ourselves a chance,” and also suggested that Schlittler’s stuff was “down just a tick,” noting that he could have been feeling off or dealing with mechanical issues.
Paul Goldschmidt led the Yankees’ offense, homering and driving in four runs despite experiencing back tightness after a recent cross-country flight. Goldschmidt said, “The trainers did a great job, and obviously I was able to play. I could’ve played first base, but a little extra rest and not being on my feet quite as long was helpful.”
Despite Goldschmidt’s efforts giving New York an early lead by the fourth inning, Cleveland responded with key hits including Kyle Manzardo’s two-run homer and RBIs from Travis Bazzana and José Ramírez. One fifth-inning run was unearned following an error by third baseman Amed Rosario in his first game back from paternity leave.
Schlittler finished his outing having allowed five hits and struck out three without issuing a walk. He threw 50 of his 76 pitches for strikes and acknowledged after the game, “If you’re going to have 35 starts, you’re not always going to be sharp… When you don’t [have] it, you’ve just got to be able to battle through that.”
