PHOENIX – This one won’t hurt for the next 25 years, but it might sting for the next eight games.
On an evening when the D-backs turned back the clock to honor a World Series celebration that took place on this same diamond, it became the setting for another Yankees walk-off defeat – this one courtesy of Pavin Smith’s pinch-hit homer, sealing a 5-3 loss on Saturday at Chase Field.
Michael Fulmer took the loss, dropping the Yankees (89-65) five games behind the Rays (94-60) in the American League East with eight left to play, dimming their chances of avoiding a best-of-three AL Wild Card Series.
“We’ve got to go on a good run,” Cam Schlittler said. “It’s going to be tough. I think we’ve had opportunities all season to put ourselves ahead, and we haven’t done a great job of that. There’s still a chance, but we’ve got to play our [butts] off a little bit.”
Even with Saturday’s loss, the Yankees have won eight of 11, yet they have been unable to make up ground. The Rays walked off the Red Sox at Tropicana Field earlier Saturday, Tampa Bay’s seventh win in eight contests.
“They’re playing tremendous baseball. It’s tough to climb up in the standings if they keep winning,” Cody Bellinger said. “It’s mathematically pretty tough, but we’ve got to keep on rolling.”
The Yankees are scheduled to host the Rays for a four-game series that begins on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.
“We sweep, and then it gets interesting,” manager Aaron Boone said. “But you can’t sweep before [Sunday’s] game.”
The sight of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling draped in purple and gold as they hoisted the championship trophy atop the infield – just as they did that November evening in 2001 – offered a gut punch for Yankees fans who can clearly picture Luis Gonzalez’s hit sailing over a drawn-in infield.
For the next generation, another was delivered later. The frontrunner to win the American League Cy Young Award, Schlittler was dominant early, holding Arizona hitless until Nolan Arenado’s fifth-inning single.
Tim Tawa followed with a bunt back to the mound that Schlittler couldn’t handle cleanly, the ball falling out of his right hand. Four pitches later, Jordan Lawlar laced a two-run triple to the gap in left-center field, giving Arizona its first lead of the game.
Because of Schlittler’s error, both runs were unearned – though that offered no consolation to the right-hander.
“I’ll take the blame for that,” Schlittler said. “I made an error there and let up two runs. That’s baseball, but that one is on me.”
Heliot Ramos and Austin Wells homered in the sixth, but an uncharacteristic loss of command allowed the D-backs to tie the score.
Schlittler threw eight consecutive pitches out of the zone, then Geraldo Perdomo loaded the bases with a bunt single that third baseman Ryan McMahon fielded but couldn’t make a play on.
Corbin Carroll jumped on a high fastball to lift a sac fly off Schlittler, who struck out the next two batters to wrap his outing.
Schlittler finished the evening with a 1.94 ERA, allowing three runs (one earned) and three hits over six innings, walking three and striking out six.
“I felt like I made an adjustment after the second inning,” Schlittler said. “I was missing a couple arm-side. I made a good adjustment and lost the zone there [in the sixth]. Ultimately, it cost me.”
Though Schlittler was dissatisfied with his performance, Boone said he thought the right-hander “threw the ball great.”
“To get us through that sixth, it was a good job there,” Boone said.
Schlittler’s final start of the regular season is lined up to come during the series against Tampa Bay in the Bronx, carrying some statistical weight.
For example, Schlittler is looking to become just the third Yankees starter in the Live Ball Era (since 1920) to finish a season with an ERA below 2.00 (Ron Guidry in 1978, Spud Chandler in 1943).
Schlittler has also allowed one earned run or none in 24 starts this season, joining Sandy Koufax (25 in 1963, 24 in 1966) and Bob Gibson (24 in 1968) as the only pitchers in the Live Ball Era with at least 24 starts of one earned run or none in a season (excluding openers).
Yet all the Yankees care about is making those four games mean something in the AL East race.
“Obviously, the goal is to win the division, rest your guys and get those off-days,” Bellinger said. “That’s always goal number one. Ultimately, World Series champions have come out of the Wild Card. We’ll keep on fighting.”