Rookie right-hander Cam Schlittler has only eight major league starts, yet his New York Yankees teammates maintain a certain trust when he pitches.
“It makes us feel way more confident in the day — like, we’ve just got to go out there and score some runs,” infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. said. “Get some runs going, and we know he’s going to handle the rest.”
After thumping the host Chicago White Sox in the first two games of their four-game weekend set, the Yankees will look to keep their attack churning on Saturday night.
And yes, they’ll have Schlittler — who’s self-assured in his own right — on the mound.
Schlittler (2-2, 2.76 ERA) has been especially dominant in August while settling in as a member of New York’s rotation.
After scattering four hits, three walks and striking out eight in six innings to defeat visiting Washington 10-5 on Monday, he’s 1-1 with a 1.63 ERA over five starts this month.
“As a rookie, you can’t get too comfortable,” Schlittler said. “It’s just important for me to continue to do my job. I try to get to six, seven innings, and put the team in a spot to win.”
New York needs to bank every victory available down the stretch. Winners of a season-long six straight games, the Yankees lead the Boston Red Sox by one-half game in the race for the first American League wild-card berth and are three games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL East lead.
Chicago has lost four straight games after winning three of four to begin a 10-game homestand.
The White Sox have placed two starters on the injured list this week. Center fielder Luis Robert Jr. (left hamstring strain) landed on the 10-day IL on Wednesday before first baseman Miguel Vargas (sprained left hand) joined him Friday.
Vargas, who hit a grand slam Thursday in Chicago’s 10-4 loss, left three innings later following a collision with the Yankees’ Aaron Judge.
“He goes out there and hits the grand slam to get us right back in the game,” White Sox right-hander Davis Martin said. “The energy’s there, everybody’s kind of rocking and rolling, pitching staff kind of catches a little bit of a stride. And then, boom. It just kind of takes the wind out of your sails.”
While the White Sox have lost their past three games by a combined 25 runs, they’ve remained afloat in the second half with the help of a core of rookies. Edgar Quero and Chase Meidroth contributed two hits Friday, Colson Montgomery is on a five-game hitting streak, and Kyle Teel is batting .458 (11-for-24) over his past seven games.
White Sox rookie right-hander Shane Smith (4-7, 3.87 ERA) on Saturday will aim to earn his second victory of the homestand. Smith delivered seven shutout innings of one-hit ball with one walk and three strikeouts to defeat Kansas City 7-0 on Monday.
Trent Grisham has seven homers in the past 10 games for New York, which is tops in the majors with 230 home runs.
–Field Level Media
