Tag Archives: Clarke Schmidt

July 5, 2025

Yankees Lose Schmidt

Clarke Schmidt, starting pitcher for the Yankees, needs Tommy John surgery:

Schmidt is the fourth Yankees starter to land on the injured list this season. Ace right-hander Gerrit Cole underwent Tommy John surgery in March. Luis Gil, the reigning American League Rookie of the Year, hasn’t thrown a pitch this season because of a lat injury. Ryan Yarbrough, a revelation after signing with the Yankees at the end of spring training, has been on the injured list since June 22 with a strained oblique.

Yarbrough has not begun playing catch. Gil recently started throwing to hitters and won’t join the Yankees’ rotation until later this month at the earliest. The Yankees for now will need to look elsewhere for Schmidt’s replacement for a start next week before the All-Star break.
ESPN.com

It seems like every team should go into a season assuming a major injury to one of their top three pitchers and have some backup plan.

Also, Schmidt started feeling elbow soreness a month ago, but the Yankees did no tests because he was pitching well. Now he won’t be pitching at all.

October 28, 2024

No Challenge

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Clarke Schmidt of the Yankees throws four straight uncompetitive pitches to Shohei Ohtani for a leadoff walk. I’m very surprised. Schmidt then pounded the strike zone against Mookie Betts and induced a fly out. It seemed that Schmidt did not want to see if Ohtani was really injured.

He wasn’t afraid to throw strikes to Freddie Freeman, either, and Freeman takes him deep for a 2-0 Dodgers lead. Freeman homered in each World Series game this year.

October 28, 2024

Playoffs Today

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The World Series moves to The Bronx for game three Monday night with Walker Buehler of the Dodgers facing Clarke Schmidt of the Yankees. Once again, game time is 8 PM EDT, 5 PM PDT. The weather will be cool but not quite cold, with temperatures in the lower 50s.

Buehler owns a 3.25 ERA in seventeen post-season starts but with just a 3-4 record. There’s an interesting paradox going on with Buehler. In his better starts, especially since 2020, he faces fewer batters than in his poor ones. In eleven starts in which he allowed two runs or less, Buehler owns a 1.25 ERA and faced on average of 20.9 batters. In six starts in which he allowed more than two runs he owns a 6.97 ERA and faced on average 22.8 batters. This, of course, make it difficult for him to get a win, as he often doesn’t get through five innings in his well pitched games. It has worked for the Dodgers, however, as they are 10-7 in Buehler’s starts.

Juan Soto is two for ten against Buehler with two walks. Jazz Chisholm Jr.stands three for five with a double, and Anthony Rizzo is two for nine with a walk and a double.

Schmidt makes his first start against the Dodgers. He pitched in post-seaosn relief in 2022, and not very well. In 2024, he improved over those numbers as a starter. He pitched 4 2/3 innings in both starts, allowing two runs. In 9 1/3 innings he allowed just one home run and walked three batters, but he only struck out six. He was well over a strikeout per inning in the regular season, and the Dodgers are very good at putting the ball in play to good results. He may need to up his strikeout game to carry the day.

Enrique Hernandez is one for seven against Schmidt with three strikeouts. He is the only one of the regular starters who faced Schmidt at least five times.

Enjoy!

October 17, 2024

Playoffs Today

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Clarke Schmidt and Matthew Boyd square off in Cleveland as the Yankees visit the Guardians in game three of the ALCS. New York leads the series 2-0. Schmidt faced the Guardians once this season in a a bend, don’t break game. (We’ve seen a lot of that in this series.) He got the win for allowing two runs, one earned, in five innings despite walking five batters. Overall in 2024, Schmidt held batters to a .154 BA with men on base and a .269 slugging percentage. Boyd has yet to allow a run in seven post-season innings with the Mariners and Guardians. He walked four and struck out 10. Seven of those ten Ks came with men on base, and he’s yet to allow a hit in that situation.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers tries to put Los Angeles up 3-1 in the NLCS as he faces Jose Quintana of the Mets at Citi Field. Yamamoto pitched a poor outing a and a good outing against the Padres, giving him a 5.62 ERA in the post-season. In the good outing, he issued one walk and struck out two as he let the Dodgers defense do the heavy lifting. Quintana has not allowed an earned run in his last three post-season outings, walking four and striking out 14 in 16 1/3 innings. He last pitched on 10/9, giving him seven days of rest.

Game times are 5 PM EDT for the ALCS and and 5 PM PDT for the NLCS.

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October 9, 2024

Playoffs Today

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Games get underway at 3 PM EDT when the Guardians visit the Tigers. Alex Cobb takes on Keider Moreno. Cobb made just three starts this season, with major and minor injuries limiting his time on the field. He did post a 2.76 ERA. Montero posted a 4.76 ERA in his first season in the majors. He limited walks, but owned a high home run rate.

At 5 PM EDT, the Phillies face elimination against the Mets. Ranger Suarez faces Jose Quintana. Suarez owns a 1.62 ERA in 33 1/3 post-season innings. He walked eight and struck out 32. Quintana did not allow a run in his last two post-season outings, holding opponents to six hits in 11 1/3 innings.

The Yankees and Royals start at 7 PM, with Clarke Schmidt and Seth Lugo taking the mound. Schmidt is a nice example of dealing with small samples. Before his injury, his ERA stood at 2.52 with a .121 BA allowed with runners in scoring position. Since coming back, his ERA is 3.65 with a .385 BA allowed with runners in scoring position. In terms of three true outcomes, he is pretty much the same pitcher, but a few more well timed hits made his ERA go up. Lugo easily pitched the best season of his career, and followed that up with an effective but short start against the Orioles. He allowed one run in 4 1/3 innings on a solo homer. He bent, but did not break as he gave up seven hits, two walks, and hit a batter.

As of this writing, the Dodgers have not named a starter to try to prevent their elimination by the Padres and Dylan Cease. The game goes off at 9 PM EDT, 6 PM PDT. Cease owns a poor post-season record. His two starts were short and led to a total of eight runs in five innings.

Enjoy!

September 24, 2024

Games of the Day

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The Rays face the Tigers with Ryan Pepiot facing Tarik Skubal. The Rays have a tough road to a wild card, but a sweep of the Tigers would likely put them back in the picture. Meanwhile, the Tigers lose tiebreakers to the Royals and Twins, so finishing a game ahead of either of those teams is critical to their wild card hopes. Skubal is at the top of the Cy Young tracker in the AL.

The Orioles send Dean Kremer against Clarke Schmidt and the Yankees. New York need one win in the three-game series to capture the AL East title. Kremer owns a 4.63 ERA against the Yankees in eleven starts, allowing 12 home runs in 56 1/3 innings. Schmidt owns a 1.76 ERA in three starts since coming off the illjured list, but he hasn’t gone deep into games.

The Braves get a chance to catch the Mets in the NL Wild card race as the teams open a three-game set in Atlanta. Luis Severino takes the hill against Spencer Schwellenbach. Severino managed to limit hits without a ton of strikeouts, and his decent walk rate helped balance his home runs allowed. Schwellenbach keeps batters off base with a .284 OBP allowed.

The White Sox can set a modern record for losses in a season as they host the Angels. Both Jack Kochanowicz of LAnaheim and Jonathan Cannon of Chicago give up high slugging percentages, so this could be a rather high scoring game.

The Mariners play game two of their series at the Astros, four games back of Houston with five games to play. The Mariners hold the tiebreaker against Houston, and would only need to gain one more game over the last weekend if they sweep the series. An Astros win gives them the division. It’s Logan Gilbert versus Framber Valdez, a great pitching matchup.

Finally, the Padres visit the Dodgers, three games back of Los Angeles for the NL West title. Michael King takes on Landon Knack. Note that the Padres hold the tie breaker versus the Dodgers, so a sweep puts them in first place. Then, they would only need to play the Dodgers even over the last weekend.

The Rays, Orioles, Mariners, and Padres all play to start or continue a sweep. You might even lump the Braves in there. Should be a terrific Tuesday.

September 19, 2024

Games of the Day

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The Giants go for a sweep of the Orioles as Logan Webb takes on Zach Eflin. Webb needs 6 1/3 innings to reach 200 in a season for the second year in a row. Eflin turned out to be a great pickup for the Orioles. In seven starts he posted a Karen Valentine ERA of 2.22, allowing just five walks in 44 2/3 innings.

The Yankees go for a sweep of the Mariners with Clarke Schmidt facing Logan Gilbert. Schmidt allowed just two runs in 10 1/3 innings since his return from the illjured list, walking just two batters. Gilbert, at one more inning than last season, allowed 33 fewer hits, six fewer home runs, and two fewer walks. That all helped drop his ERA half a run.

The Phillies can reduce their magic number of four by three tonight with a win over the Mets. Philadelphia leads the season series 6-3 with four games this weekend. A sweep by the Mets would give them the tie breaker, but a win by Philadelphia tonight gives them the tie breaker and a magic number of one.

Enjoy!

September 13, 2024

Games of the Day

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Pitching dominated in game one of the Red Sox at the Yankees, and it might in game two as Tanner Houck takes on Clarke Schmidt. Houck comes into the game with a 3.24 ERA in 169 2/3 innings. It looks like he can reach 190 innings, and if he goes really deep games, 200 is not out of the question. This season he did a great job of limiting power, with a .327 opposition slugging percentage. Schmidt uses the same three numbers in his ERA, but comes in at 2.34. His high K rate and low walk rate keep batters off base the tune of a .303 OBP.

The Athletics try to push the White Sox deeper into losing territory as Brady Basso faces Garrett Crochet. Basso makes the second start and fifth appearance of his MLB career. So far he showed some control, walking one and striking out nine in 9 1/3 innings. Crochet has been on an downward spiral since the end of July. He ranked 63 in the Bill James power ranking, but now has fallen to 80. His ERA stands at 7.32 during the slide.

Enjoy!

September 7, 2024

Games of the Day

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The Yankees at the Cubs offers an excellent early pitching matchup as Clarke Schmidt takes on Javier Assad. Schmidt makes his first start since May. He returns to the rotation with a 2.52 ERA in eleven starts. He allowed seven hits and struck out 18 in 11 1/3 rehab innings. Assad owns a 3.21 ERA in 120 innings. He pitched consistently well in his short MLB career, with a 14-9 record and 3.13 ERA in 273 innings.

The Royals are now 1/2 game ahead of the Twins for the second AL wild card slot as they host Minnesota for the second game of their weekend series. Bailey Ober faces Alec Marsh. The Royals hit Ober hard this year, scoring 14 runs in 6 1/3 innings in two starts. That includes six of the 22 home runs Ober allowed. I guess it’s Ober and out when he faces Kansas City. Marsh is a little better, with a 5.51 ERA in two career starts against the Twins. He allowed three home runs in twelve innings.

Finally, Logan Webb of the Giants takes on Dylan Cease of the Padres. Both pitchers own records just over .500 despite good ERAs. Webb uses low walk and home run rates to compensate for his low K rate, while Cease uses a very high K rate to compensate for his middling walk and HR rates.

Enjoy!

May 21, 2024

Games of the Day

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Jon Gray of the Rangers battle Ranger Suarez of the Phillies in Philadelphia. Gray lowered his ERA over two runs compared to 2023, mostly by cutting way down on his home runs allowed. Suarez owns a 1.37 ERA in 2024, but amazingly that only ranks second in the NL. He walked just ten batters in 59 innings.

The Mariners try to make it two in a row against the Yankees with Bryan Woo facing Clarke Schmidt. Woo makes his third start of the season, allowing just one run in his first 9 2/3 innings. No one took him deep yet after allowing 13 homers in 87 2/3 innings during his rookie season. Schmidt is striking out one more batter per nine innings this season compared to his career rate, helping him to an ERA in the mid twos.

Enjoy!

May 16, 2024

Judge and Schmidt

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The Yankees beat the Twins 5-0 Thursday afternoon to sweep the series. Aaron Judge collected two doubles, giving him five doubles in his last two games. That brings his season total to fifteen doubles versus eleven home runs. Judge never had a major league season in which his doubles exceeded his home runs; he has 152 doubles 268 home runs in his career. I’m starting to believe that MLB deadened the ball a bit this season.

Clarke Schmidt worked efficiently for a change, going eight innings on just 103 pitches. He brought his ERA down to 2.49, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out eight. If he can keep that up and give New York more length in his games, the pitching staff will be that much tougher.

May 16, 2024

Games of the Day

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The Yankees go for a sweep of the Twins as Clarke Schmidt takes on Joe Ryan in Minneapolis. Schmidt owns a 2.95 ERA, partially due to the Yankees not allowing him to go deep in games. He pitched just 42 2/3 innings in eight starts. Schmidt owns decent three-true outcomes. The opposition produces a high BABIP against him, but Schmidt seems to be able to get the double play grounder even though I would not classify him as a groundball pitcher. Ryan ranks fourth in the majors in walks per 9 IP. He will be a challenge for the Yankees, who are very good at taking pitches. Their batters lead the AL in walks with 177, 30 more than any other team in the league.

The Rays and Red Sox finish their four-game series, with the Fenway faithful hoping for a split. Zack Littell faces Cooper Criswell. Littell shows great control with 45 K and just seven walks in 44 2/3 innings. Criswell is right there with Littell, with 25 K and 5 walks in 25 2/3 innings.

Enjoy!

April 29, 2024

Games of the Day

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The Yankees and Orioles meet in Baltimore, New York leading the Birds by one game in the AL East. Clarke Schmidt faces Grayson Rodriguez. Schmidt is off to a good start with a 3.55 ERA, striking out 29 batters in 25 1/3 innings. Rodriguez’s run support per 9 IP, 4.55 is a tiny bit better than his 4.45 ERA, but he’s turned that into a 3-0 record.

On the west coast, the Reds take on Padres with Nick Lodolo battling Matt Waldron. Lodolo has yet to allow a home run in 17 innings after giving up 10 in 34 1/3 innings in 2023. Waldron held batters this season to a low .379 slugging percentage.

Enjoy!

September 25, 2023

Games of the Day

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There are only four games on tap this Monday, but three of them influence playoff races. The Diamondbacks and Yankees finish their series in New York with a 1 PM start to make up Saturday’s rainout. Merrill Kelly takes on Clarke Schmidt. Since the Marlins hold the tie-breaker against the Diamondbacks, Arizona’s magic number for a playoff slot stands at six. Kelly pitched poorly on the road this season, but with a good record. He stands 7-3 with a 4.10 ERA. That’s due to a lower K rate than at home leading to many more hits allowed. Schmidt gives up a ton of hits for a pitcher with a decent K rate. I get the feeling he makes a lot of mistakes, as the opposition is slugging .450 against him on a .265 opposition batting average.

The Rangers visit the Angels, Texas now in control of first place in the AL West. Jon Gray faces Patrick Sandoval. Gray owns a 3.61 ERA on the road, where he allowed just seven of his 21 home runs. Sandoval does a good job of keeping the ball in the park, with just 12 home runs allowed in 141 2/3 innings.

The Mariners return home to host the Astros, as the two fight for an AL Wild Card berth. Justin Verlander battles Luis Castillo. Home runs hurt Verlander since he returned to Houston. He allowed nine dingers in 55 innings, after giving up nine in 94 1/3 innings for the Mets. Castillo likely sets a new single season high in innings pitched with this game, and can tie his single season high in wins, matching his 2019 total of 15.

Enjoy!

June 18, 2023

Rubber Game

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I’m watching the Red Sox broadcast, and they are showing that Clarke Schmidt of the Yankees is not engaging the rubber before pitching. It appears that Alex Cora alerted the umpires, who have shifted to try to get a better look at Schmidt’s foot. So far, nothing has been called.

The Yankees lead the Red Sox 2-0 in the second inning of game one of the doubleheader.

May 20, 2023

Wash Between Innings

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Clarke Schmidt of the Yankees underwent a foreign substance trail in Friday night’s 6-2 win over the Reds:

Before he took the mound for the bottom of the fifth inning in the Yankees’ 6-2 win over the Reds, Clarke Schmidt was inspected by third-base umpire Nestor Ceja, who found something on the back of the pitcher’s left hand and had the rest of the umpiring crew check it out.

The issue, according to Schmidt, was the black fur on the inside of his glove, which had mixed with sweat and rosin throughout the night and built up on the back of his left wrist. Because the residue was not sticky, according to crew chief Brian O’Nora, the umpires asked Schmidt to go wash it off, which he did and then was allowed to continue pitching.
NYPost.com

Of course, Reds manager David Bell received an ejection for arguing the call.

Note that German’s first infraction also resulted in hand washing, but umpires kept a closer eye on him afterward and he is now serving a suspension. Schmidt will likely need to watch and wash his hands very carefully now that he is on the radar as well.

September 3, 2022

Games of the Day

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The Yankees and Rays continue their series in Florida as Tampa Bay tries to continue their remarkable comeback. Clarke Schmidt takes on Corey Kluber. Schmidt pitched mostly out of the bullpen, but in his two starts this season he allowed two walks an dno home runs while striking out 12 batters in 7 1/3 innings. Somehow he managed to allow four runs, however. Kluber pitched well in three starts against the Yankees this season with a 1.50 ERA in 18 innings. He only has an 0-1 to show for it.

The Twins and White Sox battle again as Tyler Mahle faces Dylan Cease. Mahle posted a 2.51 ERA since joining Minnesota. All four runs he allowed came on home runs. Cease allowed ten of his fourteen home runs in Chicago this year.

The Cubs send Drew Smyly against division rival St. Louis. The Cardinals counter with Adam Wainwright. Smyly improved since the All-Star break, with a 3-2 record in seven starts and a 2.03 ERA. Wainwright pitched much better at home this season, posting a 2.15 ERA in St. Louis versus 4.31 on the road.

Enjoy!