Cam Schlittler expressed disappointment with his performance following a challenging outing that saw the New York Yankees fall to the Detroit Tigers. Schlittler was charged with six earned runs and surrendered four home runs, including three in the first inning, in the 9-3 loss.
"It’s my job to come in here and try and stop that bleeding, and I couldn’t get that done," Schlittler said. "So [to] put the team down four [runs] in the first — it’s not encouraging, especially against a guy like that [Skubal]."
The Yankees ace allowed a home run to Kerry Carpenter, which began with an attempted catch that went over the wall. Following that, Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene also homered in the first inning. Greene hit another home run off Schlittler in the third inning.
Schlittler was removed in the fifth inning after a double by Dillon Dingler. Detroit's starting pitcher, Tarik Skubal, is the reigning Cy Young winner.
Manager Aaron Boone suggested that while the start was unlucky, he was confident Schlittler would learn from the experience. "If he’s not good with his location, he doesn’t usually necessarily pay like that," Boone said. "Confident that with Cam, he’ll grow from this, and this will be something that kind of fuels him and allows him to see where he can make adjustments, too, moving forward."
The 25-year-old Schlittler has a 2.08 ERA this season, though he has performed slightly worse against left-handed batters. He noted that he was able to establish his curveball later in the game. "It’s taken a while to experience an outing like that," Schlittler said. "So I just got to take what I can from it and get ready for next week."
The Yankees offense struggled throughout the game, with the team slumping to its sixth consecutive defeat. They narrowly avoided a franchise record fifth straight game with three or fewer hits before a pair of ninth-inning singles.