Cam Schlittler struck out eight batters over 5 1/3 innings as the New York Yankees defeated the San Francisco Giants 3-0 at Oracle Park, according to a March 28 report. The game marked the second straight shutout for the Yankees to start their season.
The back-to-back shutouts are significant because it is the first time in franchise history that the Yankees have opened a season with two consecutive shutouts. Schlittler’s performance, combined with Max Fried’s scoreless outing on Wednesday, also made them the first pair of Yankees starters since Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte in 2003 to begin a season with scoreless starts.
Manager Aaron Boone said he was confident in giving Schlittler an early-season start despite his limited pitch count due to a recent minor injury setback. “I’ll take 70 pitches of Cam Schlittler,” Boone said before Friday’s game. After seeing Schlittler throw 49 strikes out of his 68 pitches and allow only one hit without walking a batter, Boone said, “To get into the sixth inning really set us up. And then the ‘pen was outstanding. Each guy, I thought, did a really nice job. It was a really good win.”
Schlittler acknowledged that building up his stamina remains an ongoing process after experiencing back and lat discomfort during spring training but said he plans to continue improving week by week. “I was trying to be as efficient as possible, seeing how far I could get,” he said.
Cody Bellinger praised both starting pitchers’ performances: “Obviously Max doing what he does, and then [being] in center field for Cam’s start today — he just pitched really well. He located all three fastballs, threw a bunch of curveballs and just pounded the zone.”
Reliever Camilo Doval also contributed by striking out all three batters faced in his inning of work while showing adjustments made since joining New York last season at the trade deadline. Doval described adapting to life with his new team: “It’s like joining a new family,” Doval said through interpreter Marlon Abreu.
With these strong pitching performances early in the year, expectations remain high for both Schlittler and Fried as key parts of New York’s rotation moving forward.
