Yankees Fall to Guardians Despite Schmidt’s Recovery

Clark Schmidt had a shaky beginning in Wednesday’s game against the Guardians, and it proved to be a crucial factor in the Yankees’ loss.

The action kicked off early with Cleveland scoring three runs off Schmidt in the first inning. The game ended in the seventh when Kyle Manzard hit a 405-foot home run off Fernando Cruz, sealing a 4-0 victory for the Guardians.

Schmidt faced an uphill battle as he worked against Stephen Kwan, who quickly got to a 1-2 count. Unfortunately, Kwan managed to reach base, followed by Angel Martinez hitting a cutter for a home run into right field, further complicating Schmidt’s night. Cleveland would add to their lead shortly thereafter.

“It’s really tough when you get hit hard like that right off the bat,” Schmidt reflected after the game. “It’s like trying to balance on a tightrope—wondering if it’s a bad pitch or if they just had a good approach.”

He suspected that the Guardians’ early aggression was aimed directly at him. “It seemed pretty clear that was their strategy,” he noted. “I felt like I made some decent pitches, but it didn’t play out that way.”

After the rocky start, Schmidt managed to settle down. Aside from the walk in the first inning, he only allowed four more hits throughout the rest of his outing, finishing with eight strikeouts over 5²/₃ innings.

Interestingly, this tied his season high, which he set just last month against the Rockies.

“I guess that’s when it clicked for me,” Schmidt said, reflecting on the shift in his performance.

Even though Schmidt struggled initially, the Yankees’ bats didn’t provide much support. In the past four games, they’ve only managed to score five runs, leading to three losses in that stretch.

“We got through six innings, but offensively, we just didn’t show up,” said manager Aaron Boone. “It’s just one of those things in a long season. There’s always another chance to win tomorrow.”