KANSAS CITY – The Yankees had the best of all worlds going for them on Tuesday. With the dominant Cam Schlittler on the mound and the offense breaking out in robust fashion, it was a cruise control type of game as New York struck early and rolled to a 15-1 victory over the Royals.
Before he ever threw a pitch, Schlittler was staked to a 4-0 lead.
The Yankees struck in explosive fashion with two outs in the first on Cody Bellinger’s second homer in two days, an RBI single by Ben Rice and a two-run homer by Amed Rosario off Royals starter Bailey Falter. New York kept tacking on from there while Schlittler generally showed the form that has made him a dynamic force through the opening one-third of the season.
“Not the best,” Schlittler said. “My stuff wasn’t as sharp, but I was able to put the team in position to win. That’s all you can ask for.”
The right-hander wound up going six innings, allowing one run on four hits. He struck out six and didn’t issue a walk.
Schlittler's 1.50 ERA is the second lowest by a Yankee in his first 12 starts of a season since earned runs became an official stat in 1913, behind only Ray Caldwell (1.46 in 1914).
Before the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone had talked about Schlittler’s rise to prominence as a premier young pitcher in the American League.
“He definitely wants the ball,” Boone said. “He expects to not only pitch well, but dominate. He has that mindset. Some people have that mindset but don’t have the confidence to go with it. He certainly does.
“I like his competitiveness. He has that ‘I’m going to rip your heart out’ competitor thing to him, but he’s also even-keeled and laid-back. He strikes a good balance.”
Boone agreed that Schlittler’s stuff wasn’t his best on Tuesday, but still plenty good enough on a night when the hitters were pummeling Kansas City pitching.
“You look up and it’s six innings of one-run baseball,” Boone said. “After a couple of longer outings, we were probably going shorter with him tonight. So, to have that type of lead, having a less strenuous outing was good.”
With Tuesday’s victory, the Yankees now have a 12-game regular-season winning streak against the Royals. It’s the longest regular-season streak against one club for New York since it won 12 in a row against Boston over the 2019-20 seasons.
The Yankees finished the night with six homers among a season-high 24 hits. Rosario added a second homer in the ninth, and Jazz Chisholm Jr., Anthony Volpe and Trent Grisham hit solo shots. Every Yankees starter had at least two hits, a first in franchise history.
Falter had appeared to be out of the first inning with just one run allowed, but a replay challenge extended the inning and the Yankees made it count. With a runner at second and two outs, Rice’s sinking liner appeared to be lodged in the tip of right fielder Jac Caglianone’s glove, but the ball then touched the grass. It was initially ruled a catch, but the Yankees challenged and the call was overturned, giving Rice an RBI single. Rosario followed with his two-run homer.
“It netted us a few more runs right out of the chute and kind of got us started offensively,” Boone said. “We had a ton of really good at-bats. It was one of those nights where everything was falling.”
The Yankees had nine players record two hits or more for the first time in franchise history. The Royals had to finish the night with position player Tyler Tolbert on the mound.
“Credit the offense with the performance they put up today,” Schlittler said. “That was awesome to watch.”