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Everyone remembers Cam Schlittler’s first playoff start, and for good reason.
With eight scoreless innings and 12 strikeouts against his hometown Red Sox, the Yankees’ right-hander delivered an all-time, do-or-die performance in Game 3 of last year’s Wild Card series. And with Boston fans going after the rookie and his family on social media before the game, Schlittler’s gem and the ensuing war of words became an ongoing story.
But Schlittler also started Game 4 of the American League Division Series last October. That game is best-remembered as the Yankees’ last of the 2025 season, as the Blue Jays won, 5-2, and threw a party in the Bronx.
Schlittler, lacking his best stuff, held Toronto to two earned runs over 6.1 innings while totaling eight hits, zero walks and two strikeouts that night. He was neither bad nor great, but fine against a pesky lineup that wore him down with 24 foul balls over the course of a 1.2-inning outing on Sept. 5.
“They’re a contact team,” Schlittler said Tuesday with the Blue Jays back in town. “I was willing to give up strikeouts to get quick outs and get deep into the game. That’s exactly what I did.”
With Schlittler set to start against Toronto on Wednesday, the 25-year-old was asked what he learned from his “other” postseason start. His answer: it reinforced the idea that he needs to pitch to contact from time to time.
That’s not always the first thought for a pitcher with three different fastballs and 100-mph heat.
“As a strikeout pitcher, sometimes you gotta give up that pride, a little bit, of chasing strikeouts when you get to those 0-2, 1-2 counts, and get those first pitch outs,” said Schlittler, who is 6-1 with a 1.35 ERA and a 30.1 K% this year. “When I faced them the first two times [during the regular season], I think I tried to punch them out too much.
“I think a lot of guys that are young and get strikeouts in the minor leagues come up and they want to get strikeouts. That’s so natural for guys like me.”
While Schlittler noted that he’s “a better pitcher than I was at the end of last year,” he planned on keeping that lesson in mind while facing the Jays on Wednesday.
Opposing him will be another fledgling righty who twirled a masterpiece during last year’s ALDS.
That would be Trey Yesavage, who struck out 11 Yankees over 5.1 scoreless innings in Game 2. The 22-year-old, who also dazzled in Game 5 of the World Series, did that to the Bombers in just his fourth big league start.
While Yesavage began the 2026 season on the injured list with a shoulder impingement, he is off to a strong start as well. He enters Wednesday’s game with a 1.40 ERA and 21 strikeouts over four starts and 19.1 innings, though he had walked eight batters in his last three starts.
While Schlittler tends to pound the strike zone more — he’s only walked 11 batters over 60 innings this year — he’s been impressed with Yesavage’s ability to get swing and miss on would-be balls.
“I wouldn’t say he’s as much of a strike-thrower as some other guys, but he also is able to get in the strike zone enough where he could throw his best stuff out of the strike zone and get swing and miss,” Schlittler said. “That’s something he’s been able to do really well, and that’s why you see him get a lot of strikeouts and go pretty deep into games with limiting contact quality.”
Yesavage said that he and Schlittler have never pitched against each other before, but the Blue Jays’ phenom was hoping Wednesday’s game “could be the start of something really cool.”
Schlittler shared a similar sentiment.
“I think it’ll be a good, young matchup,” he said. “He’s a good young player, and I think it’s fun to face young guys. Hopefully, we’re facing each other for the next X amount of years.”
But Schlittler also pointed out that he’s not going up against Yesavage directly.
Rather, he has to worry about a rematch with the Blue Jays’ lineup, which has lost a few regulars to injury but still contains threats, namely Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
“There’s no reason for emotions to get too high, but I think I’ll be pretty locked in for that game, probably just as much as some of the others,” Schlittler said. “But I’m excited to face them again.”
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With eight scoreless innings and 12 strikeouts against his hometown Red Sox, the Yankees’ right-hander delivered an all-time, do-or-die performance in Game 3 of last year’s Wild Card series. And with Boston fans going after the rookie and his family on social media before the game, Schlittler’s gem and the ensuing war of words became an ongoing story.
But Schlittler also started Game 4 of the American League Division Series last October. That game is best-remembered as the Yankees’ last of the 2025 season, as the Blue Jays won, 5-2, and threw a party in the Bronx.
Schlittler, lacking his best stuff, held Toronto to two earned runs over 6.1 innings while totaling eight hits, zero walks and two strikeouts that night. He was neither bad nor great, but fine against a pesky lineup that wore him down with 24 foul balls over the course of a 1.2-inning outing on Sept. 5.
“They’re a contact team,” Schlittler said Tuesday with the Blue Jays back in town. “I was willing to give up strikeouts to get quick outs and get deep into the game. That’s exactly what I did.”
With Schlittler set to start against Toronto on Wednesday, the 25-year-old was asked what he learned from his “other” postseason start. His answer: it reinforced the idea that he needs to pitch to contact from time to time.
That’s not always the first thought for a pitcher with three different fastballs and 100-mph heat.
“As a strikeout pitcher, sometimes you gotta give up that pride, a little bit, of chasing strikeouts when you get to those 0-2, 1-2 counts, and get those first pitch outs,” said Schlittler, who is 6-1 with a 1.35 ERA and a 30.1 K% this year. “When I faced them the first two times [during the regular season], I think I tried to punch them out too much.
“I think a lot of guys that are young and get strikeouts in the minor leagues come up and they want to get strikeouts. That’s so natural for guys like me.”
While Schlittler noted that he’s “a better pitcher than I was at the end of last year,” he planned on keeping that lesson in mind while facing the Jays on Wednesday.
Opposing him will be another fledgling righty who twirled a masterpiece during last year’s ALDS.
That would be Trey Yesavage, who struck out 11 Yankees over 5.1 scoreless innings in Game 2. The 22-year-old, who also dazzled in Game 5 of the World Series, did that to the Bombers in just his fourth big league start.
While Yesavage began the 2026 season on the injured list with a shoulder impingement, he is off to a strong start as well. He enters Wednesday’s game with a 1.40 ERA and 21 strikeouts over four starts and 19.1 innings, though he had walked eight batters in his last three starts.
While Schlittler tends to pound the strike zone more — he’s only walked 11 batters over 60 innings this year — he’s been impressed with Yesavage’s ability to get swing and miss on would-be balls.
“I wouldn’t say he’s as much of a strike-thrower as some other guys, but he also is able to get in the strike zone enough where he could throw his best stuff out of the strike zone and get swing and miss,” Schlittler said. “That’s something he’s been able to do really well, and that’s why you see him get a lot of strikeouts and go pretty deep into games with limiting contact quality.”
Yesavage said that he and Schlittler have never pitched against each other before, but the Blue Jays’ phenom was hoping Wednesday’s game “could be the start of something really cool.”
Schlittler shared a similar sentiment.
“I think it’ll be a good, young matchup,” he said. “He’s a good young player, and I think it’s fun to face young guys. Hopefully, we’re facing each other for the next X amount of years.”
But Schlittler also pointed out that he’s not going up against Yesavage directly.
Rather, he has to worry about a rematch with the Blue Jays’ lineup, which has lost a few regulars to injury but still contains threats, namely Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
“There’s no reason for emotions to get too high, but I think I’ll be pretty locked in for that game, probably just as much as some of the others,” Schlittler said. “But I’m excited to face them again.”
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