New York Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler delivered a dominant performance Friday night at Yankee Stadium, retiring the first 11 Kansas City Royals batters he faced over six-plus innings. He struck out six, allowed one unearned run on three hits and two walks, earning a warm ovation upon exiting. The outing supported Ben Rice's two-run homer in the Yankees' victory.
Cam Schlittler started hot for the Yankees, keeping the Royals off balance early. He retired the first 11 batters before Vinnie Pasquantino notched a two-out single in the fourth inning. Schlittler maintained control through the fifth, where Kansas City scored its lone unearned run after Maikel Garcia walked, Bobby Witt Jr. hit a deep fly that Trent Grisham misplayed into a two-base error, and Pasquantino grounded out to plate the runner. Schlittler struck out six over his season-high 93 pitches, with 63 strikes, before handing off to reliever Brent Headrick in the seventh. Headrick stranded both runners after Carter Jensen walked and Lane Thomas singled. This performance marked a rebound for Schlittler, who had surrendered six runs and 12 hits across his prior two starts totaling 10 innings. Earlier in the season, he had fired 11 2/3 scoreless innings. On Sunday at Tropicana Field, Schlittler reflected critically on recent mistakes, vowing to stick to the right pitches.
