NEW YORK -- One inning after etching his name in the franchise record books, Yankees right-hander Clarke Schmidt reminded everyone that he can’t always be perfect.
On Saturday afternoon, Schmidt extended his scoreless streak to 28 1/3 innings. But the good news stopped there for the Bombers, whose bats fell silent against former Yankee JP Sears in a quiet 7-0 loss to the Athletics.
“The last two days, we’ve been shut down a little more than we’d like,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We’ve just got to get a couple guys going. In times like this, it comes down to getting a big hit with runners out there.”
The Yankees didn’t have many chances on Saturday, mustering just three hits -- all singles. They went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and suffered their sixth shutout loss of the year. Five of those have come in June.
“We weren’t really able to get any momentum going,” said first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who had one of the Yankees’ three hits.
As has been the case lately, the Yankees’ best momentum came from their starting pitcher. Schmidt took the mound exactly one week after he pitched seven no-hit innings against the Orioles. And early on, the extra rest seemed to be paying dividends: He set down nine of the first 10 hitters he faced on just 28 pitches, looking much like his dominant self.
That stretched Schmidt’s scoreless streak to 28 1/3 innings, the longest by a Yankees starting pitcher in the Expansion Era (since 1961), according to the Elias Sports Bureau. It’s also the longest scoreless streak by a starting pitcher in the Majors this season, eclipsing a 28-inning scoreless stretch by Houston right-hander Hunter Brown.
But the good times didn’t last. Brent Rooker snapped the streak with a solo shot in the fourth inning, crushing a hanging sweeper into the left-center-field seats. Then, Schmidt issued consecutive four-pitch walks to begin the sixth. After a three-pitch strikeout of Rooker, Schmidt threw four straight cutters to Nick Kurtz. The last one -- which Boone said was in the “nitro zone” -- landed in the short porch in right, good for a three-run homer.
Those were the first runs against Schmidt since June 4.
“I thought the sixth inning was bad pitch selections, just fell into patterns,” Schmidt said. “Very frustrating to put myself in that position.”
The four runs are the most that Schmidt has allowed in a game since April 21 at Cleveland, his second start of the season. Still, he completed six innings for a fourth consecutive start, notching seven strikeouts and largely keeping the Yankees in the game.
Twice, it looked like Aaron Judge might provide the Bombers with the big hit that Boone said has eluded his club. In the third inning, Judge came to the plate with two on and two out; after receiving a 3-1 fastball, he lined out to the warning track in right field. In the sixth, Goldschmidt’s leadoff single and Cody Bellinger’s flyout brought Judge to the plate with a man on and one out. This time, Judge scorched a fly ball with an exit velocity of 107.5 mph. It died at the warning track in center field, good for a Statcast-projected distance of 406 feet.
“Everyone’s going to go through a little something,” Boone said. “... I thought JP made a good pitch on [Judge], on the ball with [runners on] first and second, where he kind of stayed inside. It tied him up enough. He smokes it to right. Then, he hits one to the deepest part of the park.”
It was just that sort of day for the Yankees.
“We haven’t gotten hot all at the same time,” second baseman DJ LeMahieu said. “A couple guys are doing their thing, but collectively, we just haven’t been consistent enough.”
They’ll look to turn the page quickly, in time for Sunday’s rubber game.
“We haven’t performed our best the last couple of weeks,” Goldschmidt said. “There’s going to be ups and downs. I think the point is to just keep going, keep making the adjustments that are needed individually and as a group, having good at-bats and know that we’re a very capable team. Take it day by day, go out there and try to win as many games as possible.”