Schlittler shines, Rice and Goldy power Yankees to 5-1 road trip
- Davis Cornell
- Apr 1
- 4 min read
The New York Yankees took down the Seattle Mariners 5-3 to win the series and finish their West Coast trip 5-1. Cam Schlittler got the start for the Yankees and faced off against George Kriby.
“Just you know, a good start, and we just try to take it day by day,” Paul Goldschmidt said. “Our pitching did unbelievable on this road trip. We know it's gonna be a long year. We're just gonna do everything we can to win as many games as possible, and a good start.”
The Yankees got the scoring started in the top half of the first inning thanks to Cody Bellinger working a two-out walk, then stole second. Ben Rice then came through with an RBI double into the right field corner to give the Yankees a 1-0 advantage.
Schlittler allowed a leadoff double to Brendan Donovan, but struck out Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez, then got Josh Naylor to fly out to strand Donovan at second base.
Schlittler surrendered a leadoff single in the second inning, then went on a run of retiring eight straight with a pair of strikeouts to get through four scoreless innings on just 41 pitches.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. led off the fifth inning with a single up the middle, but unfortunately, he was immediately picked off.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Schlittler worked a 1-2-3 inning with his fifth punchout of the ballgame, making it 11 straight retired.
Trent Grisham and Ben Rice both worked walks, then with two outs, Paul Goldschmidt crushed a three-run bomb, his first home run of the year, extending the Yankees' lead to 4-0.
“Honestly, not any adjustments,” Goldy said. “He just made some pitches on me. He gave me some to hit my first couple of at-bats, I fouled off, and fortunately, that mistake I was able to hit and get it out of there. Try not to overthink it and just try when they make a mistake to hit it hard, and hopefully it's a hit.”
Schlittler retired the Mariners in order in the bottom of the sixth and struck out Leo Rivas and Raleigh yet again for the sixth and seventh punchouts of the game, making it 14 straight retired. Schlittler came back out for the seventh and retire dthe one batter he faced before handing the ball over to Fernando Cruz. Cruz picked up the final two outs of the frame.
Schlittler was nothing short of dominant, tossing 6.1 shutout innings, surrendering just a pair of hits, no walks, with 13 swings and misses, and struck out seven on 79 pitches. Schlittler threw his fastball 29% of the time, the cutter 27%, the sinker 25%, the curveball 7%, and the slider 3%. He topped out at 98.2 and averaged 96.7 mph on his heater.
“I think, again, just like last start, just being in the zone, making good pitches, defense was great,” Schlittler said. “So, again, just having the confidence to go out there. No walks, limit that, and just attack the zone and do what I can to get as far as I can with a limited amount of pitches.”
Camilo Doval took over for the eighth inning and did not have his best stuff, giving up two hits and walking a batter to load the bases. Bednar took over with the bases juiced and two outs, looking to pick up the four-out save. Raleigh lined a two-run single to right to cut the Yankees' lead in half, making it 4-2.
Rice crushed a 429-foot bomb, his first home run of the season, to lead off the ninth and add a huge insurance run for the Yankees.
Bednar allowed a two-out RBI single to Dominic Canzone, making it a 5-3 ballgame, then Cole Young just missed a game-tying home run, flying out 349 feet away in right center, exhale.
The Yankees will have an off-day tomorrow before their home opener in the Bronx on Friday afternoon against the Marlins, with the first pitch scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET on the YES Network. Will Warren will get the start for the Yankees and face off against 22-year-old phenom Eury Perez.
“It's going to be great,” Goldy said on getting back to the Bronx. “I know the crowd's been waiting for us. It's been a long off-season. We're ready to get home and get going.”
My thoughts on the game: What a start from Schlittler, who was on an 80 pitch count but made the most out of those pitches, completely shutting down the Mariners for 6.1 innings. The bullpen was shaky to say the least, as Doval and Bednar combined to give up three runs and put the Mariners right back in the ballgame. Rice had another multi-hit game with his first homer of the year, as he is now hitting .412 with a 1.289 OPS. Giancarlo Stanton had the day off, which I know a lot of people didn't agree with, but Aaron Boone and the Yankees came into this year with a plan to play him five times every seven days, hoping to keep him healthy for a full season. Aaron Judge continued to struggle today, but it's hard to hit when it's 45 degrees. I have no doubt he will heat up on this home stand. Goldy, who a lot of people were confused by him staring today against a right-hander, ended up being the difference today with his huge three-run bomb. What a great start to the season, going 5-1 on a trip to the West Coast, and won't be back out there until the end of May when they play the A’s. On to Friday, as the Yankees will look to continue their hot start.
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