Yankees.com: Schmidt burned by back-to-back HRs in 4-inning start

From Henry Palatella:

Two consecutive swings ended up being Clarke Schmidt’s undoing on Monday at Progressive Field.

The first swing came from José Ramírez, who blasted a three-run, no-doubt shot to right field to give the Guardians a 3-0 lead in the third.

The second swing wasn’t as majestic, but still had the same outcome. After allowing that home run to Ramírez, Schmidt missed on a sinker on the very next pitch to Kyle Manzardo, who smacked a 366-foot home run that just snuck over the wall in right.

While Manzardo’s homer didn’t go as far as Ramírez’s 390-foot smash, it hurt just as much. Those home runs soured Schmidt’s start, as he lasted just four innings in Cleveland’s 6-4 win.

“I felt like he was a little off command-wise,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

I honestly am not too concerned about this one from Schmidt. The homer came from a great hitter after two straight hitters got on base due to lucky hits (it reminded me of 2022, where every flyball in the ALDS against Cleveland was hit precisely where no one could get to it). Schmidt definitely struggled with command a bit, but he also got a lot of swing and miss. This is just his second start of the season, I’m not worried about him.

It still sucked, though. It also sucked how unclutch the Yankee hitters were all game, except for two late homers. Austin Wells, especially, took great pains to make sure Aaron Judge never had runners on base. Ben Rice was able to pinch hit, though, which is great news.

Now, if Schmidt sucks in his next start, I’ll start being concerned.