Schlittler looks to help Yankees counter Brewers' gas on Saturday

MILWAUKEE -- If there’s one underlying theme for Cam Schlittler’s starts this season, it’s the wide gap between how the Majors views them and how he thinks they went. Though his numbers continue to grab headlines and wow nearly every opponent he faces, the Yankees’ star right-hander is often quick to instead point out things he needs to fix.

Out-dueling Jacob deGrom while allowing just three hits through six frames? Too many walks in Schlittler’s eyes. (He had two.)

Hurling eight dominating innings near his hometown in Boston? That start was “a grind,” per Schlittler.

Seven innings of one-run ball during his most recent start, an outing against the Orioles in which he topped his career high in velocity six times? Schlittler felt he didn’t throw enough strikes.

If outings like those aren’t up to par in his book, it’s quite terrifying to wonder what it will look like when Schlittler throws a start he views in a positive light.

His next attempt to do so comes Saturday night at American Family Field.

Schlittler brings his AL-leading 1.52 ERA to the mound looking to help the Yankees even their series against the Brewers. And after Friday night belonged to Milwaukee ace Jacob Misirorowski and his triple-digit fastballs, it’ll be Schlittler’s turn to counter with some heat of his own.

The 25-year-old boasts three different fastballs, none of which opposing hitters have been able to do much against. Both his four-seamer and his sinker are averaging over 97 mph, while opponents are batting a paltry .098 against his cutter. He topped 100 mph 19 times against Baltimore after making a mechanical tweak to his delivery.

But while that outing was one of four consecutive starts in which Schlittler allowed no more than one earned run, he still left it feeling there were more improvements to be made.

“The execution wasn’t there today,” Schlittler said after the game. “You can see the strikes were down. I’ve just got to make that adjustment going into the next start.”

Milwaukee is about to find out if that adjustment was made. If it was, Brewers hitters could be in for quite a rough night.