The Yankees are going with the safe bet for Game 3 of the ALDS.
Aaron Boone announced that Clarke Schmidt will start the third contest of the series in Kansas City on Wednesday. The decision had been down to Schmidt and fellow right-hander Luis Gil.
“Obviously, really excited,” Schmidt said before Game 2 on Monday. “Great opportunity and something I’ve been looking forward to and kind of hoping would happen.”
Schmidt added that the decision had “been in the works.” First, he had to get through Game 1 without being used in relief. Boone made the decision official on Sunday before revealing it on Monday.
“I just felt like he was the right guy for Game 3,” the manager said.
Boone called Schmidt “one of the better pitchers in the league.” The 28-year-old has never started a playoff game, but Schmidt led the Yankees’ rotation with a 2.85 ERA after a lat injury limited him to 16 starts this season.
Schmidt didn’t permit more than three earned runs in any start until his last one of the season on Sept. 29, when he allowed four earned runs over four innings in soggy conditions.
“I think he’s primed for that spot,” Yankees catcher Austin Wells said. “And he’s so versatile, he’s going to have a great start for us.”
Asked what made Schmidt the right guy for Game 3, Boone replied, “He can deal.”
That’s not to say that Gil can’t, but he’s an option out of the bullpen for now.
A Rookie of the Year contender, the 26-year-old finished the regular season with a 15-7 record, 3.50 ERA and 29 starts. He also struck out 171 batters and walked 77 over 151.2 innings.
With electric stuff but the highest BB% (12.1) of any starter with at least 150 innings pitched this season, Gil was the high-risk, high-reward option for Game 3. Of course, putting him and his iffy command in the bullpen comes with risk as well.
Boone said he considered past relief experience “a little bit” when deciding on his Game 3 starter, but he reasoned it’s been a couple years since Schmidt worked out of the bullpen, so there’s no telling what that would look like now.
Schmidt was a reliever in 2022. Gil has never pitched out of the pen in the majors. Now he’s an option for length and high-leverage spots. Boone would prefer to bring Gil in for a clean inning, though.
“The reality is if you go far in this thing, you might end up with some starting pitchers in some unique roles in a given game that you all gotta be ready for,” Boone said. “So that’s kind of my message: this is all hands on deck and be ready for anything.”
Boone added that the Bombers considered using Gil out of the bullpen at the very end of the season, but they wanted to keep him built up. The plan is for Gil to rejoin the rotation should the Yankees advance to the ALCS.
For now, his potential relief role has at least one teammate intrigued.
“I think he has more in the tank being a reliever, and the fastball might be an extra couple miles an hour,” Wells said. “It’s already a great fastball. I’m looking forward to that when the time comes, and we’ll see what happens.”
