Aug 20, 2025; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlittler (31) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

Yankees Young Starter Flirts With Perfect Game

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Erin Shapland | Last updated Aug 21, 2025 7:00 AM ET

The New York Yankees' starting pitcher, 24-year-old Cam Schlittler , went six perfect innings in their second game against the Tampa Bay Rays, maintaining a 2-0 lead for the Yankees until his departure in the seventh. Schlittler's final line in his new best performance in the MLB: one hit, two walks, zero runs and eight strikeouts in 6.1 innings pitched.

Cam Schlittler was simply dominant on a night he flirted with perfection pic.twitter.com/3vnOvKrECI
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 21, 2025

Schlittler was called up from Triple-A in early July to make up for the loss of Clarke Schmidt, who suffered a season-ending injury requiring Tommy John surgery. Schlittler has a 3.22 ERA in seven starts, sitting among his peers despite the small sample size (Max Fried has a 3.26 ERA in 25 starts and Carlos Rodon has a 3.24 ERA in 26). The Yankees have plenty of problems with pitching lately, with Jonathan Loaisiga's tenure on the injured list newly extended among a litany of pitcher injuries and Fried on the fritz to boot, but Schlittler is proving to be worth the early hype.

Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

It was an exciting game into extra innings as the Rays managed to tie up a 3-1 game in the bottom of the ninth with a two-run homer off of David Bednar. Giancarlo Stanton, pinch hitting, went back-to-back with Austin Wells for clutch homers in the tenth. Relief pitcher Devin Williams, called up to close the game (to the chagrin of the discerning public), allowed one run and nearly blew the save with a runner on second and third, but managed three nail-biting strikeouts to end the night. C+.

Trent Grisham, who was in the lineup for the Yankees' impromptu home run derby against the Rays the night before, had a two-homer game of his very own. He became the fourth Yankee this week to accomplish the feat, after Cody Bellinger, Jose Caballero and Stanton did it in the previous night's 13-3 trouncing. The Yankees have now swept their road trip, 5-0 over the last five games, as they head into their four-game series with the Boston Red Sox at home.

After a terrific week, the Yankees are now atop the AL Wild Card and 4 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the top spot on the AL East. The Yankees now face this high-stakes series with their nemeses, the Red Sox, who sit just behind them in the division and 5.5 games from the top.

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