The Yankees are firmly in postseason position and are awaiting whether they'll play in the Wild Card round or win the AL East and get the first-round bye.
However the playoff seedings shake out, the Yankees need a Game 3 starter and they may have one in rookie Cam Schlittler. The young flamethrower had perhaps his best outing of his short season against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday afternoon. He allowed just two hits and one walk across seven shutout innings while striking out nine batters in the Yankees' 6-1 win.
Schlittler's performance lowered his season ERA to 2.96 and put the pressure on the Blue Jays to keep up in the division race.
"I thought he was great. Stuff was really good again out of the chute," manager Aaron Boone said of Schlittler's performance. "Good job mixing the secondary with the big fastball. Lost the zone in that inning when he hit a couple of guys and had some uncharacteristic misses by him. But dialed back in and finished great in the sixth and seventh."
Schlittler credited his outing to staying in the strike zone, feeling out his mechanics and taking a step from his last start. Pitching against these same Orioles on Sept. 21, Schlittler went just 5.1 innings, allowing one run on three hits. On Saturday, Schlittler made sure to stay on top of the ball and "finish through the catcher's mask."
And he wasn't affected by the pressure of Saturday's game. With the Blue Jays having the tiebreaker, the Yankees need to keep winning and get help from the Rays in their series with Toronto. Knowing the stakes, Schlittler embraced the pressure to pitch his best game of his young big league career.
"I knew the situation after yesterday. There’s a little bit of pressure, it’s something I do and something I want to pitch through," Schlittler said. "It’s high stakes, I don’t have experience in the playoffs. Take it day to day, but I’m aware of the situation. That’s over with, have to focus on next week. [The pressure] Locks me in a little more. I enjoy everything that comes with that."
That confidence exudes from Schlittler on the mound and the Yankees skipper knows it. When asked if Schlittler's confidence matches former Yankees starter Michael King's, Boone took a beat before playfully saying, "No one's as confident as King."
To Boone, King is at the top of the confidence list, followed by Clarke Schmidt and then Schlittler.
"You walk out there with that equipment, I’d be confident too," Boone quipped. "He definitely has that. But there’s a humility to him; he doesn’t think he has it figured out or anything like that. He does have confidence with a good competitiveness. Good combination."
With Max Fried and Carlos Rodon set to pitch the first two game of either the Wild Card of ALDS, Boone has a decision to make for Game 3. He can go with Schlittler or fellow rookie Will Warren, or 2024 AL Rookie of the Year, Luis Gil.
Warren gutted out an uneven start in Friday's win with Gil pitching the regular season finale on Sunday with the division potentially on the line. Perhaps Boone will know after Sunday, but does he have the confidence to give Schlittler the ball to start a pivotal third game of a playoff series?
"Yes, absolutely."
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