New York Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this year, but he had a rough outing on June 30.
The six earned runs he allowed were a season high, and he had an opportunity to bounce back on Monday night. He threw eight innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts against the Tampa Bay Rays to get the Yankees just their second win in their last 10 games. Not only did Schlittler prove he still deserves to be in Cy Young Award talks, but he also showed what type of competitor he is.
"They want to say there’s (expletive) regression because I have one bad outing, so again, it was personal to go out there and have a dominant start and put this team in the right position,” Schlittler said after the game.
Schlittler has an American League-best 2.01 ERA and has already recorded 131 strikeouts. His rookie campaign was clearly not a fluke, and with Max Fried out, he has stepped up. The Yankees came into the season without Gerrit Cole and Fried went on the injured list after just 10 starts.
The team needed Schlittler to carry some of the extra load, and he has done just that. The Yankees have won 13 of the 18 games he has pitched in, and he has allowed fewer than three earned runs in all but two starts. After Monday's game, he is up to 11 quality starts on the season.
Schlittler is the current favorite to win the American League Cy Young Award and was named an All-Star for the first time in his young career this year.