Cam Schlittler arrived at Globe Life Field as a 25-year-old with a big arm and left as the pitcher who pushed the Yankees deeper into one of the best stretches in the majors. The right-hander threw six shutout innings Tuesday night, and Aaron Judge added a late solo homer as New York held off the Rangers 3-2.
Schlittler scattered three hits and two walks while striking out eight, lowering his ERA to 1.51. He matched up with Jacob deGrom, 37, who finished six strong innings and entered the night with a 2.01 ERA, but the Yankees got the first break when Cody Bellinger lined an RBI double in the top of the first.
That edge held until Austin Wells connected for a home run in the seventh, and Brent Headrick protected the lead by stranding a pair of runners in the inning. Fernando Cruz followed by stranding more runners in the eighth and then striking out the next two batters, a stretch that kept the Rangers from turning the game around before Judge’s blast in the ninth made it 3-0.
Judge said Schlittler was going toe-to-toe with a future Hall of Famer, and manager Aaron Boone described the matchup as two big, tall, lanky power-pitching righties. The wording fit the night. Schlittler did not overpower the Rangers with one pitch so much as he kept winning the count, working out of the middle of the game with enough control to make the Yankees’ lead stick.
The tension came in the ninth. David Bednar allowed Texas to trim the lead to 3-2 before getting Corey Seager to ground into a double play that ended it, and Judge called the defense around him incredible before adding that the double play to close it out capped the job. The Yankees have now won 10 of their past 11 games and are 20-10, while the Rangers fell to 14-16.
For Schlittler, it was the kind of night that changes the way a team talks about a young starter. For the Yankees, it was another yankee score that arrived the hard way, with starter, bullpen and late power all doing their part against one of the game’s most accomplished arms.
