ST. PETERSBURG -- American League Cy Young Award front-runner Cam Schlittler said Saturday afternoon what his incredible numbers away from Yankee Stadium would already suggest: He likes pitching on the road.
More specifically, he likes the feeling of “silencing” someone else’s home crowd. But he wasn’t worried about that as he looked ahead to pitching against the Rays in Game 2 of the AL Division Series on Monday night at Tropicana Field.
“I wouldn't say there's really too much of an away crowd here. I expect there to be a lot of Yankees fans,” Schlittler said before Game 1. “In some ways, you are, to an extent, kind of playing at home. I feel like the guys are excited to have that atmosphere here.”
But the Yankees may not have felt that way as they left Tropicana Field following the Rays’ 1-0 win behind a dominant Drew Rasmussen and an equally enthusiastic, sold-out home crowd. With the upper deck fully open, the Rays announced an attendance of 40,542, the highest total at the Trop since Game 5 of the ALDS in 2010.
And the Rays felt the support, too.
“The crowd was absolutely electric. I've never seen this place like that,” said shortstop Taylor Walls, who has been with the Rays since 2021. “Usually when the Yankees come here, even if it's a weekend series, it's really hard to tell what side's winning as far as the attendance goes. Tonight it felt like Rays fans were there.”
Walls was not alone in that opinion.
“It was incredible. Tampa Bay showed out for us tonight, and that was awesome to see,” Rasmussen said. “The adrenaline was definitely a hair higher than it normally was. … This place is as loud as any place is when it's filled up.”
Manager Kevin Cash even took it a step further.
“That's the best crowd noise I've ever witnessed in any ballpark,” said Cash, who’s been managing the Rays since 2015. “The atmosphere that was created, the hype before the game. Give [Rays CEO Ken Babby] and his group an incredible compliment in that we need to create that atmosphere -- and [I] can't wait to see them back out there on Monday.”
If a similarly supportive crowd shows up for the Rays in Game 2, of course, it could benefit Schlittler just the same. There’s no doubt he feeds off the energy of a hostile crowd and the excitement of shutting it down.
The right-hander is capable of dominating anywhere he pitches, of course, and Schlittler said Saturday he doesn’t know why his home/road splits “are the way they were.” But there’s a reason he went 8-2 with a 1.16 ERA in 17 road starts during the regular season and led all Major Leaguers in road ERA, WHIP (0.74), strikeouts (129) and opponents’ batting average (.153), OBP (.206) and OPS (.456).
“From afar, you appreciate Cam Schlittler's overall body of work. It's just amazing stuff,” Cash said. “There’s a lot of things he does, [along with] the strike-throwing and the pitch execution, that make him an elite pitcher.”
The Rays saw that in one of their three matchups with Schlittler during the regular season. On July 6 at the Trop, he fired eight innings of one-run ball and struck out eight without walking anybody. But Tampa Bay got to him a couple times, too, to varying degrees.
The Rays ran up his pitch count over three innings at Yankee Stadium when they last faced him on Sept. 24, although that was very much a tuneup start ahead of his excellent outing against the Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Series. His first start against Tampa Bay was somewhere in the middle, as he surrendered three runs on seven hits over five innings in a 5-4 loss at Tropicana Field on April 12.
Regardless, the Rays aren’t so naive as to think Schlittler will be anything but his best when he takes the mound just after 8 p.m. ET on Monday. They feel confident that Game 2 starter Freddy Peralta will bring his best, too.
And after seeing their dome-field advantage in full effect on Saturday night, they have reason to believe they’ll get the best out of their home crowd, as well.
“They were dominating, a majority of the fans that were in attendance, and it was awesome,” Walls said. “The third [deck] being full, it's electric, dude. That was awesome. … It feels like you’re at a NASCAR track.”