Cam Schlittler delivered a career-high 13 strikeouts and six scoreless innings as the New York Yankees beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-0, and Aaron Boone singled out the performance as “Electric real early.”
NEW YORK — The ball was already humming before Cam Schlittler even reached the point where Yankees fans start looking for history. On Friday night, the right-hander didn’t just take over against the Cincinnati Reds. He dominated, striking out a career-high 13 batters and working through six scoreless innings in a 5-0 Yankees win.
Afterward, Yankees manager Aaron Boone didn’t try to overcomplicate what everyone on the mound seemed to feel. “Electric real early…,” Boone said. “He was feeling it tonight.”
Schlittler, 25, has been with the Yankees since last summer, and his arrival has been described as a cornerstone-level upgrade. A Massachusetts native. he turned another start into something that immediately reads like a turning point for this season—whether that’s pushing his case for the American League Cy Young or putting him on track to pitch in the upcoming All-Star game.
The Yankees also struck early off Cincinnati starter Rhett Lowder. In the bottom of the second inning, Jazz Chisholm Jr. launched a solo home run into the right-field upper-deck. Later in that same inning. Ben Rice mashed his 21st homer of the season. a three-run blast that pushed New York further in front.
From there, it was almost all Schlittler. The former seventh-round pick surrendered just four hits and did not allow a single walk. According to Baseball Savant, he generated 18 whiffs and 17 called strikes.
By the time he was done, the results matched the eye test. Schlittler lowered his ERA to an American League best 1.71 and became only the second Yankee to strike out 13 batters in six innings or fewer.
Asked by reporters about the performance, Schlittler said, “I’ve been working on things for a little bit now, so it was good to finally kind of see that click.”
The Yankees’ offense kept adding value even with the game already leaning heavily their way. When shortstop Anthony Volpe ripped an RBI single to add insurance in the eighth. the Reds’ lineup still had no answer for New York’s pitching staff. After Schlittler departed, Jake Bird, Brent Headrick, and David Bednar combined for three clean frames to seal the win.
Chisholm, meanwhile, used the moment to talk up Schlittler’s All-Star case. “I think that would be pretty cool to see him out there pitching in the All-Star Game, knowing that he’s one of the best pitchers in the world,” the second baseman said.
Even with the Cy Young chatter and the All-Star talk, Schlittler kept his focus where it has to be for a long season that won’t forgive anything short of consistency. “The goal is to win a championship, so those small statistics don’t really matter,” he said.
New York Yankees Cam Schlittler Aaron Boone Cincinnati Reds Jazz Chisholm Jr Ben Rice Anthony Volpe Jake Bird Brent Headrick David Bednar Rhett Lowder