For three innings, Clarke Schmidt gave the Yankees everything they could want, pitching around a leadoff walk in the first and a pair of hits in the second.
After a seven-pitch top of the third, the Yankees let the right-hander start the fourth inning. That’s when it went south for Schmidt and the Yankees in a 7-5 loss to the Giants in The Bronx on Saturday.
Unable to finish hitters off as he had in the first three innings, Schmidt gave up a leadoff homer to Joc Pederson on a 3-2 sweeper (a variation of a slider) on the 10th pitch of the at-bat, and things only got worse in the three-run inning.
Of the at-bat that began to sour the outing, Schmidt said Pederson “dragged it out a little bit, and I left a few pitches over the plate.”
Pederson fouled off consecutive cutters — the new pitch in Schmidt’s arsenal — before the homer. Schmidt then gave up a double down the right-field line to Mike Yazstremski and a long flyout to center to David Villar before Brandon Crawford ended Schmidt’s day with a two-run homer on a 3-0 cutter that Aaron Boone said “didn’t do much.”
Boone said Schmidt was also hurt by a 32-pitch second inning, though he made it through the third unscathed — helped by a terrific diving catch by Aaron Judge in center to end the inning.
The 27-year-old Schmidt has shown flashes throughout his career and been valuable in different roles, but has been unable to fulfill the potential the Yankees saw in him when they drafted Schmidt in the first round in 2017.
The addition of the cutter is expected to make Schmidt a more well-rounded pitcher, but he was still only expected to battle for the final spot in the rotation this spring before the Yankees were clobbered by injuries to starters like Luis Severino, Carlos Rodon and Frankie Montas.
That left Schmidt on the mound in the second game of the season, with rookie Jhony Brito making his MLB debut Sunday against the Giants.
The 25-year-old Brito has pitched in just eight games at Triple-A, but performed well in spring training.
Schmidt was pleased with some of his outing, including the swings-and-misses he induced —especially with the cutter. He whiffed four batters in the first two innings and was hurt by a pair of lefty hitters — Pederson and Yazstremski — to start the fourth.
Of the Giants, Schmidt said “they were able to string together some good at-bats against me and put two balls in the stands. … I’ve got to be able to get out of the fourth inning, limiting some damage, and get to the fifth and sixth.”
Boone said of Schmidt’s start: “There was a lot of good in there.”
Certainly, though, the Yankees want to get more out of the right-hander if he’s going to remain in the rotation.
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