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Cam Schlittler was laboring a bit, but certainly still looked sharp.
Still, manager Aaron Boone yanked the rookie starter after five innings and just 86 pitches.
It immediately backfired in the Yankees’ 4-1 loss to the Twins Wednesday night in The Bronx.
Schlittler allowed one run on two hits and two walks with six strikeouts.
But with the game tied at 1-1, it was reliever Yerry De los Santos who came out for the sixth inning.
He quickly allowed two consecutive singles at the start of the inning — to Byron Buxton and Luke Keaschall — followed by a two-run double from Kody Clemens, putting the Yankees behind 3-1. De los Santos was taken out without recording an out.
He was replaced by Mark Leiter Jr., who, later in the inning, gave up an RBI double to Royce Lewis that extended the Twins’ lead to 4-1.
“It was like 52 pitches over the fourth and fifth inning,” Boone remarked. “Just facing a challenging part of the lineup, Buxton, the previous time, had seen a lot of pitches before hitting a double against him. I just felt like, it was 86 pitches, but more than 50 of those were in the last two innings, so it’s like how much more can you get out of him? It felt like he really had to work hard through the fourth and the fifth innings. He set us up. Heading into an off-day and with a well-rested bullpen, I felt like we could manage.”
Schlittler’s pitch count was at just 34 through three innings, but he threw 29 pitches in the fourth and 23 in the fifth.
He wasn’t giving up hard contact, however, and had retired four of his last five batters.
Entering Wednesday, Schlittler averaged 88 pitches in his five starts this year.
He reached or surpassed 90 pitches in three of those starts.
“I felt good,” Schlittler stated. “I’m a rookie, so you have to earn that. It’s going to take time and consistency. No issue with the decision and I trust the bullpen.”
“You have [86] pitches after five [innings], Buxton’s coming up, two-three-four [hitters], I just feel like, as a rookie, you gotta earn that.”
The Yankees have placed significant trust in Schlittler.
When Luis Gil’s return from the injured list necessitated a rotation decision, the Yankees opted to cut veteran Marcus Stroman rather than move Schlittler to the bullpen or send him down to Triple-A.
And though they revamped their bullpen, the Yankees did not make a move for a starter ahead of the trade deadline.
With Wednesday’s start, Schlittler lowered his season ERA to 3.94.
Clearly, though, they are still going to be cautious with how they use him.
“He set us up to win a game,” Boone said. “I will confer [with the pitcher] sometimes. Tonight, though, I felt like it was time to pull him.”