Schlittler dissatisfied with outing despite settling down after rocky start

ST. PETERSBURG – Cam Schlittler steadied his outing after a loud beginning on Sunday, but the right-hander didn’t have much time to enjoy it – not with Drew Rasmussen making swift work of the Yankees’ lineup.

Schlittler struck out eight Rays at Tropicana Field, permitting three runs on seven hits and one walk over five innings in New York’s 5-4 loss.

“We’ve got a great offense,” Schlittler said. “I’ve just got to be able to pick them up there, which I didn’t. I’ve got to be better there and limit runs.”

Schlittler was outpitched by Rasmussen, who held the Yanks to one hit – Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s second-inning double – over six scoreless innings in his return from the paternity list.

Yandy Díaz, Richie Palacios and Chandler Simpson drove in runs against Schlittler, who called the outing “kind of embarrassing.” His ERA inflated to 2.49 from 1.62.

“Schlittler came in being as good as any pitcher in baseball,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “It felt like we had good at-bats and put some traffic on pretty quick.”

The start featured Schlittler’s first walk of the season, issued to Díaz in the third inning. Schlittler had faced 70 batters this year before the free pass.

He’s the seventh pitcher in franchise history to go three starts without a walk, and the first since Mike Mussina in 2001.

Schlittler registered a career-high 21 whiffs in the outing, the most by a Yankee since Carlos Rodón (23) last Sept. 20 at Baltimore. It was the most by a New York right-hander since Gerrit Cole (26) on Aug. 10, 2024, vs. Texas.

“I was able to read what they were trying to do early,” Schlittler said. “Again, poor pitches in poor situations. I’ve got to learn from that and take it next week into [Kansas City on Friday].”