WASHINGTON — Cam Schlittler has made himself the AL Cy Young favorite in the first half by leaning heavily on three different kinds of fastballs.
The Nationals, his final test before the All-Star break, have been one of the majors’ best fastball-hitting teams.
That made for an intriguing matchup Saturday afternoon, which started poorly for Schlittler when he gave up a pair of solo home runs in the first inning before pitching into the seventh as the Yankees came back to beat the Nationals 4-2 for their third straight win.
In an ace-like effort, Schlittler rebounded from the early ambushes by not giving up a run the rest of the way, putting the finishing touches on a terrific first half (2.05 ERA) that should earn him the start for the American League in Tuesday’s All-Star Game.
“Good pitchers are going to battle through that or you’re going to crumble,” Schlittler said. “I feel like I crumbled a little bit against Detroit [two starts ago when he gave up four home runs]. I feel like I can take today as a win in terms of making those adjustments and getting deeper into the game than I probably should’ve been.”
Schlittler did not have his best command either, tying a season high with four walks while striking out six.
But he settled into a groove as he got deeper into the game and finished with 6 ²/₃ innings — helping out his bullpen and keeping the Yankees within striking distance so they could come back to win it.
“Just a bunch of resilience, making pitches, competing,” said Trent Grisham, who delivered the go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth.
Up next could be a start in the All-Star Game, on what would essentially be Schlittler’s between-starts bullpen day.
Aaron Boone said before the game that there was a “good chance” Schlittler would be able to throw in the game, and while the right-hander said he did not yet know if he has the green light, he expected to find out in the next day or two.
“If I’m comfortable doing that, then I’ll do that,” he said. “It’d be a cool experience. I’m not gonna lie, I’m not too worried about it. I got more things to worry about in terms of this team and how we’ve been playing. I like how it’s been the last couple days.”
David Bednar, after throwing two innings to close out Friday’s win, came back for the ninth inning Saturday to record his 18th save of the season.
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He now has a career-long 19-inning scoreless streak after an up-and-down start to the year.
“I think just finding my form and being aggressive,” Bednar said. “Being aggressive in the zone and trusting all three of my pitches. Whenever I’m able to be in the zone with all three, I’m able to have success.”
Max Fried (left elbow bone bruise) was in line to throw about 45 pitches in a simulated game Saturday afternoon at Double-A Somerset.
If he recovers well from it in the coming days, he should be cleared to start a rehab assignment after the All-Star break, giving him a chance to return to the Yankees by early August.
