New York Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt. Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Yankees starting rotation shines on 5-1 road trip

By Tommy Fradenburg | Last updated 5/17/24

When New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole was shut down in spring training with elbow issues, there was a lot of pressure on general manager Brian Cashman to bring in another starting pitcher.

Cashman decided to roll with the starters he had, causing worry in New York.

Nestor Cortes Jr. and Carlos Rodon both struggled to stay healthy in 2023 and didn't live up to expectations when they did pitch. Free-agent acquisition Marcus Stroman came with some previous beef with Cashman due to a trade-deadline snub. While he was an All-Star with the Cubs last year, a poor start in the Bronx would have the fans turn against him quickly.

Clarke Schmidt, who had a solid 2023, making 32 starts as the fifth man in the rotation in the disappointing campaign, and exciting prospect Luis Gil, who spent last year recovering from Tommy John surgery, have rounded out the rotation.

After a second consecutive shutout of the Minnesota Twins on Thursday afternoon, the Yankees have the most wins in the American League.

Cashman may have been right after all, as the starting rotation, especially Clarke Schmidt, shined in the six-game road trip to Tampa Bay and Minnesota.

Clarke Schmidt has completed 7 innings for the 1st time in his career! pic.twitter.com/YJYxR5PyY8
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 16, 2024

Schmidt started the road trip with 6 2/3 shutout innings against the Rays, notching six strikeouts and working around five hits and two walks. He followed that up with his best performance of his career on Thursday against the Twins, throwing another eight scoreless innings with eight more K's, three hits and no walks.

Cortes Jr. was the only starter to surrender more than a single earned run (four in the only loss of the trip), and the trio of Schmidt, Stroman and Rodon held the Twins to just a single earned run over 20 innings in the series.

On the season, Yankees starters have the third-lowest ERA in MLB and have crept up to fifth-most innings pitched after leaning on the bullpen early in the season.

With the starting rotation performing so well and the Yankees holding sole possession of first place in the American League East, manager Aaron Boone doesn't have to rush his reigning Cy Young winner back from the type of injury that's ended many star pitchers' seasons already.

Having that kind of firepower will be incredibly valuable for a Yankees team under immense pressure to win the World Series in 2024.

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