Yankees’ Clarke Schmidt has strong message to Aaron Boone after longest start of career

Even when Boone came and took the ball out of Schmidt’s hands, the pitcher was fighting to stay in to the game which shows his passion for the profession he is in. Boone loves those traits where he touts Schmidt’s “confidence” and how he is “super competitive” as he currently has a 4-1 record, a 2.95 ERA, and 47 strikeouts.

“He wants the ball,” Boone said. “He’s got a lot of confidence. He’s super competitive, and he loves pitching. He loves the game, the fire. He likes the action.”

Funny enough, the last time Schmidt went that long in a game for New York was in Tampa facing the Rays last August so it has taken a lot of work to get to this point as it remains to be seen if he will continue to have deeper outings. The starting pitcher admits that it is “uncharted territory,” but it is “a big step in the right direction.”

“It’s uncharted territory finally to be able to get there tonight,” Schmidt said after the game. “Obviously, it’s a big talking point. So I try to block out the noise and not worry about it, but I know what I’m capable of doing. And I know I’m very well capable of controlling my pitch count and going deeper in games. It’s a big step in the right direction.”

Schmidt says he’s close to figuring out flaw 

If history has shown anything, it is that Schmidt struggles heavily when the game gets into twilight innings of the game as he called it the “next puzzle piece” to figure out. Per The New York Daily News, “Prior to Friday, the righty had a 4.53 career ERA between the fourth and sixth innings. As a starter, opponents were hitting .348 against him the third time through the order. The opposition also had a .344 average when Schmidt was between 76 and 100 pitches.”

“It’s just one of those things where it’s kind of like the next puzzle piece and learning how to get better as a starting pitcher,” Schmidt said. “We feel like we’re continuing to move that needle and get better and better, and we feel like we were getting closer and closer. Obviously tonight was a big accomplishment as far as that goes, and I think it’s just the beginning.

“I know I’m always very close,” Schmidt continued. “Like every time I’m out there, it’s like maybe it’s a bloop hit here or a 3-2 walk that just misses. It’s been very close every single time. So to finally execute pitches and kind of accomplish that goal was obviously big, but it’s not something that I think about. When I’m out there, all I’m thinking about is competing and executing pitches, and that showed tonight.”

Boone talks the decision to take out Schmidt despite friendly pitch count

When Schmidt was taken out of the game, he was at 87 pitches, which was a friendly count, but Boone decided to pull the plug as Rays star Richie Palacios was at the plate and had success the last time he faced the 28-year old slinger. Boone talked about the reasoning to take out Schmidt and even said that he “was pretty convinced on getting” him out.

“Palacios, here and back at our place, has had some pretty good swings against him,” Boone said. “So as much as his pitch count was in good shape, it was still a pretty stressful night as far as just pitching in leverage the entire night. They pressured him pretty well for not scoring. So once we got to Palacios there, I was pretty convicted on getting him there.”

It wasn’t all sunshines and rainbows for the Yankees though as they had offensive struggles of their own, only scoring two runs with one coming in the fourth and finally in the ninth inning. Tampa Bay’s Taj Bradley got the starting nod Friday night against New York as it was his first start coming off of a right pectoral strain as Boone called him “impressive” as the 23-year old struck out seven.

“Oof,” Boone said which resulted in him talking about the arsenal Bradley has via The New York Daily News. “Ninety-eight, cutter, split, flashed a good curveball tonight. He’s impressive. He’s got a great arm.”

Schmidt answers if his prior struggles haunt his thoughts

For the Yankees to have continuous success, they need Schmidt to be as exceptional as he was Friday night and not let his previous flaws come back. He even was asked after the game if the struggles late in the outings ever come back and ruin his mood and his answer is one that will and should excite fans of the ball club.

“I would say no,” Schmidt said. “What really helps is having a really good bullpen. So when I do get to those situations, I can trust my bullpen. I know that they’re always going to have my back.”

No doubt the bullpen came in and handled business as the Rays were shutout after Schmidt went to the dugout leading to another win for New York. The Yankees are now 26-14 on the season which puts them second in the AL East behind the Baltimore Orioles as they continue the series against the Rays Saturday evening as Nestor Cortes gets the start.