It wasn’t always pretty, but the Yankees found a way to remain road warriors in the opening game of Saturday’s doubleheader in Cleveland.
Clarke Schmidt flirted with his first scoreless start in nearly a year and Oswaldo Cabrera delivered another crucial home run to fuel a 3-2 victory at Progressive Field, helping the Yankees overcome multiple missed opportunities on offense and a two-run error on defense.
Schmidt, 28, held the hot-hitting Guardians to two runs (one earned) over 5-plus innings, striking out seven but issuing five walks en route to his first win of the season.
“It was a good outing,” said Schmidt, who improved to 1-0. “It was a grind a little bit, but definitely really happy where everything’s at. Just continuing to improve.”
Equipped with a sharp cutter and biting knuckle-curve, Schmidt limited Cleveland to one hit and zero runs through the first five innings, but he left with two runners on base and nobody out in the sixth, clinging to a 3-0 lead.
Three batters later, with the bases loaded and one out, Yankees reliever Caleb Ferguson induced a potential inning-ending double-play ball off the bat of Tyler Freeman, but second baseman Gleyber Torres airmailed a cross-body throw to first, allowing Cleveland’s only two runs to score.
The error ended Schmidt’s chance at his first scoreless start since May 31, extending a stretch covering 24 non-relief appearances.
Still, Schmidt’s effectiveness was particularly notable considering Cleveland loaded its lineup with eight left-handed bats. Entering Saturday, lefty hitters owned a .298 average against the right-handed Schmidt in his career.
“I thought he was pretty good,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I thought his stuff looked good. He was getting swing-and-miss from guys that you don’t typically see swing-and-miss from, which I think is a tribute to his stuff. All in all, pretty good. Would’ve liked to see him work through the sixth there.”
The Yankees’ key contribution on offense came from Cabrera, whose two-run home run in the sixth inning against reliever Nick Sandlin put them up 3-0 proved to be the difference. Cabrera had fouled off a bunt attempt two pitches earlier.
The big swing continued a hot start for Cabrera, who now has three home runs this season after hitting only five in 115 games last year. Cabrera, who crushed a pair of game-tying home runs during the Yankees’ season-opening series in Houston, hadn’t played since Sunday.
“[Cabrera is] always ready and prepared,” Boone said. “Just another nice job by him in a winning cause.”
It was an otherwise underwhelming offensive day for the Yankees. They loaded the bases with no outs in the second inning but came away with only one run on a Trent Grisham double play.
Grisham grounded into another double play in the fourth, ending a scoreless inning that began with runners on second and third. Making only his third start of the season and first since April 3, Grisham — whom the Yankees acquired in the December trade that also brought Juan Soto from San Diego — finished 0-for-4.
Those missed chances helped Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco navigate the five hits and five walks he gave up over 4.2 innings. The 37-year-old Carrasco, a former Met who made the Guardians out of spring training, allowed only one run but took the loss to fall to 0-1.
The Yankees needed to deploy two of their top bullpen weapons ahead of Saturday’s nightcap, as Ian Hamilton and Clay Holmes combined to throw three scoreless innings in the Game 1 win.
“Starting the day off with a win is a really big deal,” Schmidt said. “It sets the series up in a nice situation.”
This weekend’s series marks a battle of early-season heavyweights who entered Saturday with the two best records in the American League. With the victory, the Yankees improved to 7-1 on the road and 11-3 overall. Cleveland fell to 9-4.
A rainout Friday night prompted Saturday’s split doubleheader, with Cody Poteet set to start the second game for the Yankees in his team debut. Cleveland’s Triston Mackenzie (1-1, 4.00) is also slated to start Game 2, which is scheduled to begin at 6:10 p.m. ET.
BERTI TO IL
Cabrera is set to receive more playing time following Saturday’s heroics, as the Yankees placed third baseman Jon Berti on the 10-day injured list with a left groin strain.
“I don’t think it’s overly severe, but I don’t have a timeline,” said Boone, who confirmed Berti suffered the injury while running out a ninth-inning hit on Wednesday.
Berti’s trip to the IL came in a flurry of roster moves that also saw the Yankees call up infielder Kevin Smith and reliever Ron Marinaccio while designating reliever Josh Maciejewski for assignment.
