ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — With how well the Yankees offense has been lately, starting pitchers usually enjoy some breathing room on the road.
Clark Schmidt had nothing on Friday, but he grew from it.
With a one-run lead remaining, Schmidt got off to the best start of his career, pitching 6/3 shutout innings as the Yankees defeated the Rays 2-0 at Tropicana Field.
Schmidt was on the offensive from the start and had the longest appearance of his career. The same was true for Friday’s game, both of which were here under a dome similar to Yankee Stadium South.
Schmidt, pitching in the seventh inning for the first time this season, avoided the third through-order trouble that sometimes cost him and held off the Rays (19-20), who had won five of their last six games. Dangerous.
The right-hander allowed only five singles, walked two, and struck out six.
Anthony Rizzo, who gave the Yankees the lead with a single in the fourth inning, led off with a home run in the ninth inning, providing an insurance payout late in the game.
Schmidt’s relievers, Nick Vardy, Luke Weaver and the erratic Clay Holmes, got the win, giving the Yankees (26-14) their sixth win in their last seven games.
Holmes played aggressively in the ninth inning, loading the bases with two walks (double his season total) and one single.
However, he struck out Johnny DeLuca and escaped, ending the game.
Through his first seven starts of the season, Schmidt epitomized consistency and solidity for the Yankees.
He pitched five or six innings and gave up three or fewer runs each time. But on Friday, he took his game to the next level.
Schmidt got through the first five innings with a mostly efficient 67 pitches. 21 of those pitches came in the fifth inning, when he had to hold back to keep the game 1-0 by blocking two runners.
Then, in the sixth inning, while Nick Vardy was warming up in the bullpen, Schmidt relieved Randy Arozarena with two outs and first base.
Schmidt had already thrown him away once in a close fight, but came back a second time to catch Arozarena.
The inning ended with one pitch.
Schmidt walked the leadoff man in the seventh inning — only his third ball of the night — and then got two outs before handing the ball to Burdi.
However, that threat quickly disappeared when Jose Trevino hit his second stolen base attempt of the game.
After Taj Bradley held the Yankees hitless in the first inning in his season debut, the Yankees struck back in the fourth inning.
After Aaron Judge drew his second walk of the night, with two outs Giancarlo Stanton hit a 116.4 mph single into the left field seats, putting runners on the corners.
Rizzo hit a 98 mph fastball from the top of the zone to the opposing field and singled to give Judge a 1-0 lead and a 1-2 count.
