Clarke Schmidt Outdueled As New York Yankees Lose Game 1 In Cleveland

Clarke Schmidt was awful and was outdueled by the Guardians Gavin Williams. Schmidt started the first game of the series in Cleveland. He did not save an overtaxed bullpen, which the Yankees needed. The Yankees need Schmidt to be a good pitcher in their starting rotation, and this is not the way. Guardians Starting Pitcher Gavin Williams silenced the Yankees bats. Will Schmidt ever pitch well for the Yankees?

Lineups: Yanks Lose Game 1 In Cleveland

The Guardians had Steven Kwan batting first and was playing left field. Nolan Jones was the right fielder and batted second. Jhonkensy Noel pinch-hit for him in the eighth inning. Jose Ramirez batted third and was the third baseman. Kyle Manzardo the designated hitter batting fourth. Carlos Santana was the first baseman and batted fifth. Gabriel Arias was the second baseman and batted sixth. Angel Martínez was the center fielder and batted seventh. Bo Naylor was the catcher and batted eighth. Brayan Rocchio was the shortstop and batted ninth. Daniel Schneemann came in for him in the ninth inning after Rocchio was hit by a pitch.

For the Yankees, Austin Wells led off and was the catcher. He feels better and hit a late home run yesterday. Aaron Judge was the designated hitter, batting second. Cody Bellinger batted third and was the center fielder. Paul Goldschmidt was the first baseman and batted fourth. Jazz Chisholm Jr. batted fifth and played second base. Anthony Volpe batted sixth and was the designated hitter. Jasson Dominguez batted seventh and was the left fielder.

Pablo Reyes batted eighth and was the right fielder. Ben Rice pinch-hit for him in the ninth inning. He was a fielding disaster at third base, so maybe this will be better. Oswaldo Cabrera was the third baseman and batted ninth. 

Scoring Summary: Clarke Schmidt Good Enough as Yankees Win

Ramirez, who hits well against the Yankees, hit a three-run home run in the third inning giving Cleveland a 3-0 lead. Manzardo followed that with a solo home run giving Cleveland a 4-0 lead. Schmidt ran into some problems in the third inning.

In the fourth inning, Rocchio drove in Martinez and Cleveland took a 5-0 lead. In the sixth inning, Ramirez drove in Kwan to make it 6-0 for Cleveland. That made four RBI for Ramirez.

Dominguez hit a 2-run home run for the Yankees in the seventh inning. That blast made it 6-2. In the eighth inning,  ChisHolm Jr. hit a 2-run home run. That cut the Cleveland lead to 6-4.

Game Notes

Yankees Manager Aaron Boone earned his 40th ejection yesterday, arguing balls and strikes while Judge was up. Schmidt, cliched a World Series birth in Cleveland last fall. The Yankees bullpen was in good shape for this game following Max Fried’s great start yesterday.

This was the second game in a row Judge was the designated hitter. He killed Cleveland in the regular season last year. The starter for the Cleveland Guardians, Gavin Williams, is 6-foot-6. He pitched well also and threw several fastballs at 99 miles per hour with a good curveball.

At game time the weather was 68 degrees Fahrenheit and partly cloudy. One could have much worse weather in Cleveland in April. Schmidt gave up 7 hits through four innings. Friday, at home, the Yankees have an interesting promotion. It will be hockey jersey night.

Conclusion

The win streak for the New York Yankees ended at one. That is not a streak. Schmidt was outdueled by Williams. Williams was outstanding in this game. The Yankees need Schmidt to be an important part of their starting rotation. He is not. The Yankees will try again in Cleveland tomorrow night, and Yankees fans hope for a better outcome.