Daily Report – 9/14/26
Yankees
Cam Schlittler’s island keeps shrinking. There is only room for one.
Yesterday, with a 2-0 win, the Yankees took the second leg of the Subway Series from their crosstown rivals. With six scoreless innings, Schlittler struck out eight batters and allowed just one hit, lowering his season ERA to 1.95.
His excellence capped an emotional weekend as the Yankees recognized the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
Image Courtesy: New York Yankees
Schlittler is no longer just the favorite to win the Cy Young Award. With an American League-leading 7.1 Wins Above Replacement, he is also in the MVP contest. His numbers are anything but generic for a Cy Young candidate, and he has continued to thrive as the season has progressed.
His achievements include, but are certainly not limited to:
The second-lowest ERA through 31 starts in Yankees history, trailing Ron Guidry (1.71 ERA in 1978).
The seventh-most strikeouts (228) by a Yankees pitcher in a single season in franchise history.
One run allowed or fewer in 21 starts, which a) leads the league, b) sets a franchise record, and c) makes him the fourth pitcher to do so in AL history.
Seven straight starts allowing 1 run or fewer, tying the franchise record.
Eight scoreless starts, the second-most in the league and the fifth-most in a single season in Yankees history.
“I think the best is yet to come,” said catcher Austin Wells, one of two Yankees who homered in yesterday’s win. “He’s still getting better. As he pitches more in the Big Leagues, I think he’s going to learn more about what he’s capable of, and probably surpass that as well.”
Wells’s third-inning home run traveled 392 feet and into the second deck in right field. Along with Ben Rice’s leadoff shot in the first inning, the Yankees’ pitching staff kept that 2-0 score intact. The offense only mustered three hits, but the Mets scratched just as many.
Schlittler’s outing ended at six innings in part because he took a line drive off the back of his leg after throwing his final pitch. He had already thrown 94 pitches, so he was likely done by then anyway.
Fortunately, Schlittler seems to have avoided anything serious, especially because the 111.5-mph line drive might have grazed his pitching hand.
“It’ll be a fun couple of days trying to get that recovered,” Schlittler said. “But I think we’re in a good spot.”
Brent Headrick, Paul Blackburn, and David Bednar backed up Schlittler. They are the three leaders of the back of the Yankees’ bullpen, and the three likely candidates to set up and close postseason games.
It had been a while, though, since all three strung together consecutive scoreless innings.
On Friday, with the right-handed Marcus Semien due up, Blackburn was summoned from the bullpen before Headrick. He inherited a baserunner, walked Semien, and two batters later, surrendered a single to AJ Ewing and a walk to Francisco Alvarez.
Blackburn left the bases loaded for Headrick, who leads the league with 62 scoreless appearances, the fifth-most by a reliever in Yankees history. With an impressive catch, Headrick escaped trouble.
At one end of the Yankees’ rotation stands Schlittler, the MVP candidate and Cy Young frontrunner. On the other end is Gerrit Cole, the 2023 Cy Young winner, in his first season after Tommy John surgery. An impressive resurgence in May and June has mutated into disarray.
Cole has the home run bug. He has given up seven long balls in his last two starts. On Saturday, his velocities and spin rates were normal, suggesting he is healthy. However, his changeup dropped 2.2 mph yesterday, and he gave up five runs on nine hits, including three homers, resulting in a 12-2 loss.
When he won the Cy Young in 2023, Cole threw his changeup 7% of the time, and 13% of the time to lefties. He dropped his changeup usage to 4% in 2023, and to just 6% versus lefties. But this year, he stopped throwing his cutter, resulting in a 13% changeup rate, including a 20% rate against righties.
Cole probably stopped throwing his cutter because batters hit .314 against it in 2024 and .274 in 2023. This year, batters own a .226 average against Cole’s changeup, so overall, it has been a successful pitch type.
Cole’s primary pitch is his fastball, his secondary pitch is his slider, and his tertiary pitches are his knuckle curve and changeup. Batters have a .327 batting average against his knuckle curve, though, so he needs to regain control of his changeup.
“I think it’s something that we’ve got to figure out, for sure,” a disgruntled Cole said postgame on Saturday. “It’s just one of those times in the season that you’ve got to start making adjustments. Sometimes adjustments are hard, but that’s the demand of the game.
“You’ve got to find a way to get through it and go forward.”
Cole isn’t the only starting pitcher whom the Yankees must monitor closely as they construct their postseason rotation. Max Fried wasn’t scheduled to pitch in this weekend’s Subway Series, but an elbow injury still looms.
The Yankees’ top southpaw struggled in his start on Thursday, and he is scheduled to start tomorrow night in Minnesota. The Yankees must tread carefully with Fried, for his health and October status are still in question.
If the Yankees, 4.0 games behind the surging Rays, have to host the Red Sox in a best-of-three Wild Card series and neither Cole nor Fried is a reliable starter, the entire ship will sink.
13 games remain in the regular season, which means at least two more appearances for every starter.
Get everybody right.
Do it now.
Tonight, the Yankees can clinch a playoff spot with a win or a Blue Jays loss. At 7:40 PM (6:40 PM CDT), RHP Will Warren (10-6, 4.05 ERA) will start for the Yankees against RHP Dean Kremer (3-5, 5.65 ERA) (YES, Gotham Sports).
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for the New York Yankees:
DH Ben Rice (L)
LF Cody Bellinger (L)
RF Aaron Judge (R) (C)
1B Luis García Jr. (L)
CF Spencer Jones (L)
SS George Lombard Jr. (R)
3B Ryan McMahon (L)
C Austin Wells (L)
2B José Caballero (R)
SP: RHP Will Warren (10-6, 4.05 ERA)
Schedule
7:40 PM (6:40 PM CDT): NYY at MIN; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: RHP Will Warren (10-6, 4.05 ERA) vs. RHP Dean Kremer (3-5, 5.65 ERA)
8:15 PM (7:15 PM CDT): Monday Night Football (MNF), Week 1 – Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs; ABC, ESPN, ESPN App
8:00 PM (7:00 PM CDT): Progressive Monday Night Kickoff; ABC, ESPN, ESPN App
Cover Image Courtesy: New York Yankees
