Schmidt shows value for Yankees in win over White Sox

CHICAGO — With the recent adversity the Yankees have faced with their starting rotation, the right-hander clarke schmidt‘s presence only looms larger.

And Schmidt continues to answer the doorbell.

“Clarke Schmidt has really come of age here in the last few months,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Monday.

Schmidt has been a constant presence in New York’s rotation for a while now, and that continued Tuesday. 7-1 win over the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. He allowed one run, a solo homer to Luis Robert Jr., on four hits in 5 1/3 innings, walking one to seven strikeouts.

It was the 14th straight start that Schmidt had allowed three runs or fewer.

“I think you can say he’s been one of the best pitchers in the league probably for the last two or three months,” Boone said. “After taking the lumps from him the first month of the season, he’s been very consistent for us.”

Schmidt got off to a slow start this season, posting a 6.30 ERA in nine starts and pitching fewer than five innings in six of those outings. But he turned the corner in May and has been on a roll ever since.

Entering Tuesday, the 27-year-old had a 3.23 ERA in 14 games (13 starts) since May 19. He was tied for 18th in baseball (among pitchers with at least 60 innings) with Astros ace Framber Valdez.

His presence has proven especially valuable to a Yankees rotation that hasn’t been complete for extended periods this season. Carlos Rodón began the season on the disabled list, made his debut in July and returned to the IL on Monday with a left hamstring strain.

Nestor Cortes spent about two months in IL with a rotator cuff strain and recently returned. Sunday German got on the shortlist last week.

“He’s been, after Gerrit (Cole), that guy we’ve been able to hang our hat on,” Boone said of Schmidt.

Schmidt had a good 2022 season largely in the bullpen; he finished with a 3.12 ERA in 29 appearances, including three starts. Being in the rotation full-time has his differences, but even when he struggled early in 2023, his confidence didn’t waver.

“It’s baseball, and it’s inevitable that you’re going to face adversity, obviously,” Schmidt said. “Sometimes it’s worse than others. The way you handle adversity in this game says a lot about you.

“For me, it was just to keep working and keep trusting in my things and that the results were going to come. When they started coming, once the ball started rolling down the hill, it was like it couldn’t be stopped, in a sense.”

Schmidt didn’t allow a hit Tuesday until Robert’s home run to lead off the fourth. He struck out six White Sox batters in the first three innings and the Yankees’ bats responded soon after.

New York, after leaving a combined 28 runners on base in his previous two games, he went 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position Tuesday. But the Yanks posted a four-run fourth inning; after back-to-back singles by Giancarlo Stanton and Billy McKinney, Isiah-Kiner Falefa hit a two-run double.

Kyle Higashioka and Aaron Judge homered in the eighth to clinch runs. It was the first pinch-hit home run of Higashioka’s career; it was Judge’s second home run since he came off the disabled list late last month.

“It felt good to break the ice right there and start,” Kiner-Falefa said. “The two guys in front of me did a great job.”

With their offensive struggles in recent days, Tuesday’s performance was a good show for the Yankees. Of course, at this point in the season, each win is just as important as the next.

The Yankees have had an up-and-down streak over the past week, but they’re going in on Wednesday. 4 1/2 games of an American League wild card berth.

“It’s just a matter of getting the job done, which is the issue, if you will, down the stretch,” said outfielder Harrison Bader, who drove Kiner-Falefa home with an RBI single in the fourth. “Any way we can do it, whether it’s a run in the ninth or 20, or what we saw tonight…

“Just get the job done, get wins, keep it moving and move on. That’s all we care about.”