Clarke Schmidt stays hot as Yankees beat Royals

KANSAS CITY — For a rotation that’s already lost three starters due to injury, Clarke Schmidt is quickly becoming one of the Yankees’ most reliable pitchers.

Schmidt struck out seven — one shy of his career high — and allowed just two hits to toss his second six-inning scoreless gem in his past three starts. Schmidt has gotten through the sixth inning five times in his 10 starts this season — matching the same number he reached in 32 outings in 2023 (his most recent full season).

The right-hander has allowed three runs or fewer in nine of his 10 starts this season and dropped his ERA to a season-best 3.60 mark after his dominant start in Kansas City. In fact, the only runs Schmidt has allowed in his past three starts came in the first inning in Cleveland — outside of that, Schmidt has put up a zero in every other frame.

For a Yankees team that has already lost Gerrit Cole for the season and is still a few weeks away at best before both Marcus Stroman and Luis Gil return to the big league club, Schmidt’s ability to not only provide depth — but limit the damage – has been crucial for a Yankees (41-25) club that entered the day 13th in MLB in starter’s ERA despite the brilliance of Max Fried (1.84) and Carlos Rodón (2.87), who both rank inside the top 20 in baseball in ERA.

The leader in that stat entering Wednesday was the Royals’ Kris Bubic, but the Yankees tagged Kansas City’s lefty for five runs to pull away early for the second straight night. New York sent 10 batters to the plate in a five-run second inning — the Yankees’ Major League-leading 17th five-run frame this season — that was energized by Cody Bellinger’s leadoff triple and Austin Wells’ double.

Aaron Judge continued his red-hot season at the plate by adding on in the seventh with his 25th homer — a Statcast-projected 413-foot blast that left the bat at 108.8 mph. It was Judge’s third straight game with a home run and fifth homer with two strikes this season.

For Schmidt, that was more than enough run support to aid the Yankees in their 20th series win against the Royals in their past 21 completed series, dating back to May 25, 2015.