On a night when the Yankees’ offense struck out 17 times and failed to record a hit that stayed in the ballpark, Cam Schlittler refused to let the game get away.
New York beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1 on Monday night at Tropicana Field, opening a four-game series against the AL East leaders with a strange but important win. The Yankees had three hits. All three were home runs. José Caballero hit two of them, including the three-run shot that broke the game open in the fifth inning. Ben Rice added a solo homer in the ninth.
Schlittler did the heavier lifting. Six days after giving up a career-high six runs against Detroit, the right-hander worked eight innings, allowed one run on four hits, struck out eight and walked nobody. Tampa Bay’s only run came in the bottom of the fifth, when Chandler Simpson scored on Richie Palacios’ RBI single.
Schlittler stopped the bleeding
Schlittler entered the night with something to prove. In New York, one bad start does not sit quietly for five days. It gets picked apart.
Against Tampa Bay, he gave the Yankees exactly what they needed. His fastball touched 100 mph, and the Rays had trouble squaring it up. Jonathan Aranda later pointed to the carry on the pitch and the way Schlittler kept that velocity deep into the night. The box score backed up the eye test. Schlittler threw 72 of his 101 pitches for strikes and finished with 11 ground balls against only one fly ball.
More impressive than his eight strikeouts was his spotless walk column. Tampa Bay never got free traffic. The Rays had to swing their way into trouble, and Schlittler rarely gave them a pitch to turn into a real inning.
Speaking with reporters after the game, Schlittler did not hide how much the response mattered to him.
“It was personal to go out there and just have a dominant start, and put this team in the right position.”
That was the edge the Yankees needed. There was no speech. No dramatic reset. Just eight hard innings from a starter who looked angry enough to be precise.
Jax owned the Yankees until Caballero changed the ight
For four innings, Griffin Jax made the Yankees look stuck. He retired the first 13 batters he faced and struck out 10 across five innings, tying his career high. New York chased, missed and failed to put real pressure on him until the fifth.
Then the game flipped fast. Jax walked Jasson Domínguez and Jazz Chisholm Jr., giving Caballero the first real chance of the night. Caballero crushed a three-run homer to left off Jax and turned a scoreless duel into a 3-0 Yankees lead.
Tampa Bay answered in the bottom half, but only once. Simpson scored on Palacios’ single, cutting the lead to 3-1. Schlittler shut the door from there.
Caballero added another homer in the eighth off Chris Roycroft, setting a career high with 10 home runs. Rice followed in the ninth with his 25th homer, also off Roycroft.
Winning with three hits is a fluke, not a formula, and the Yankees know it. Aaron Boone acknowledged after the game that the offense was still grinding, even if the long balls were enough this time.
Gaining ground in the east
The Yankees did not fix everything in one night. New York’s lineup still has problems when it strikes out 17 times. Clubs chasing the Rays cannot expect to survive many games with only three hits.
Still, beggars cannot be choosers against a first-place club. New York entered the series needing a clean start after losing nine of its previous 10 games. The win cut Tampa Bay’s division lead to three games and gave the Yankees a needed result before the rest of the series.
The ninth inning also told part of the story. Schlittler had done enough at 101 pitches. David Bednar came in and finished the game with a scoreless inning, striking out one and protecting the 5-1 lead.
For the Yankees, the night belonged to two players. Caballero supplied the damage against his former club. Schlittler supplied the backbone.
That is how a team can strike out 17 times and still leave St. Petersburg with exactly what it came for.
READ MORE: How Yankees Ownership Turns Pressure Into A Plan
FAQS
1. Why was Cam Schlittler’s start important for the Yankees?
He gave the Yankees eight innings after a rough previous outing. His command helped New York beat the Rays despite only three hits.
2. How many hits did the Yankees have against the Rays?
The Yankees had three hits. All three were home runs.
3. Who hit home runs for the Yankees against Tampa Bay?
José Caballero hit two home runs. Ben Rice added a solo homer in the ninth inning.
4. How did the Rays score their only run?
Chandler Simpson scored in the fifth inning on Richie Palacios’ RBI single.
5. What was Cam Schlittler’s pitching line against the Rays? Schlittler threw eight innings, allowed one run on four hits, struck out eight and walked nobody.
