Clarke Schmidt can’t escape troublesome fifth inning in pressure-packed Yankees start

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The playoffs came at Clarke Schmidt fast.

One moment, Schmidt was cruising, having retired 13 of the first 16 batters he faced to move one out away from being eligible for the win in the biggest game of the Yankees season.

The next, he was on the bench, hoping Clay Holmes could save him from being on the hook for a loss. 

What happened in between? An infield single, a double and a triple to score two runs — all with two outs.

Schmidt mostly seized his opportunity but settled for the no-decision Wednesday in Game 3 of the ALDS as the Yankees bullpen finished off a well-pitched, 3-2 win against the Royals.

It was a less drastic version of what happened to teammate Carlos Rodon in Game 2.

Rodon retired nine of 12 batters through three clean innings before the fourth caved in on him, with a solo home run by Salvador Perez and three singles that scored two runs and left a runner on base that Ian Hamilton allowed to score as a 1-0 lead became a 4-1 deficit.

Manager Aaron Boone was correct in that Schmidt seemed unfazed by the pressure-packed moment.

He struck out four and allowed four hits and one walk on 71 pitches in 4 ²/₃ innings.

He got 10 whiffs, mostly on the cutter that accounted for 52 percent of his pitches, per Baseball Savant.

“I don’t worry about him, and all the noise that comes with a best-of-five series and it’s Game 3 and we’re tied on the road,” Boone said. “I know he’s fully equipped to deal with all that.”

But Schmidt’s three-batter run that led to a quick hook started against the bottom of the order, when Adam Frazier reached on a two-out infield single to shortstop.

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One strike from getting through the inning, Schmidt surrendered a double into the left-field corner to Kyle Isbel.

It landed a foot or so away from the foul line, whereas the Yankees’ Gleyber Torres controversially had a ball that appeared to leave a dent in right-field chalk called a foul ball earlier in the game despite instant replay review.

With Isbel on second, Michael Massey ripped a sinking liner to right field that just eluded a diving Juan Soto and rolled all the way to the wall.

The triple chased Schmidt, who was rescued by Clay Holmes stranding runners on the corners.

The performance was better than the previous two Schmidt had in his first trip to the playoffs in 2022 — when he blew a save then allowed the walk-off hit in Game 3 of the ALDS, and allowed the go-ahead home run and took the loss in Game 1 of the ACLS.

Boone made the decision to go with Schmidt, who had a 2.85 ERA in 16 starts during the injury-disrupted best season of his career, over Luis Gil in Game 3.

Gil was the Yankees’ second-best starter during the regular season, but his role in the playoffs is undefined after he far surpassed his previous career high in innings pitched.

He surrendered 10 runs in 11 innings over his last two starts combined.