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Yankees continue to waste stellar Cam Schlittler season with loss to Blue Jays
New York Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlittler. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Yankees continue to waste stellar Cam Schlittler season with loss to Blue Jays

The New York Yankees lineup continues to fail ace starting pitcher Cam Schlittler.

On Saturday, despite another strong performance from the leading AL Cy Young Award candidate, the Yankees (68-55) fell on the road to the surging Toronto Blue Jays (61-64), who have won seven of their last 10 and are one of four teams at the time of publication tied for the league's final wild-card spot.

Schlittler pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed one earned run on four hits in the 4-1 loss. The 2026 All-Star added seven strikeouts while walking three batters, but Yankees hitters once again couldn't generate enough run support to take advantage of their star's day on the mound.

New York has dropped five of Schlittler's last six starts, including his past four, while averaging 2.8 runs during the stretch

New York Yankees batters squander another Cam Schlittler start with dud in 4-1 loss to Toronto Blue Jays

The lack of plate production has overshadowed Schlittler's continued strong season. He leads the AL in ERA and has allowed one run or fewer in four of his past six starts. On Saturday, he got out of an early first-inning jam by striking out third baseman Kazuma Okamoto with a high, 95 mph cutter.

He ended the fourth by overwhelming catcher Brandon Valenzuela and second baseman Josh Smith with more high heat on swinging strikes.

Despite an impressive outing, New York lost its third consecutive game because of struggles in the batter's box. The Yankees mustered four hits in 29 at-bats (.137) to a continue a dreadful post-All-Star stretch. They've been a mess at the plate since losing star Aaron Judge (fractured rib) to the injured list, but particularly so since the Midsummer Classic. Per FanGraphs, the Yankees ranked last in team batting average (.205) in the month since the All-Star break entering Saturday.

With the offense flailing, Schlittler essentially must be perfect, putting immense stress on the second-year pro. It also has turned what should be a penciled-in win on the calendar into a toss-up. 

While the young ace is in the midst of an excellent season, it could look even better if Schlittler had even a little run support. But that's increasingly becoming too much to ask.

Eric Smithling

Eric Smithling is a writer based in New Orleans, LA, whose byline also appears on Athlon Sports. He has been with Yardbarker since September 2022, primarily covering the NFL and college football, but also the NBA, WNBA, men’s and women’s college basketball, NHL, tennis and golf. He holds a film studies degree from the University of New Orleans

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