SEATTLE \u2014 It is not always going to be like this.<\/p>\n
A Yankees starter is going to give up multiple runs \u2014 maybe even three \u2014 someday.<\/p>\n
But not now, not yet \u2014 and most of the time, not even one.<\/p>\n
Cam Schlittler was masterful once again, throwing 6 \u00b9\/\u2083 shutout innings on the way to a 5-3 win over the Mariners to claim the series at T-Mobile Park while continuing the Yankees run of pitching dominance to begin the season.<\/p>\n
Schlittler, who retired the final 15 batters he faced and would have gone even deeper had he not been on a pitch count, recorded the fourth scoreless start by a Yankee in the team\u2019s first six games \u2014 two by him and two by Max Fried.<\/p>\n
Yankees starters have still only given up just two runs over their first six games \u2014 spanning 33 \u00b2\/\u2083 innings \u2014 marking the fewest by any team\u2019s starting rotation through their first six games of a season since 1900.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the staff\u2019s dominant and the bullpen\u2019s been great as well,\u201d said Schlittler, who struck out seven and scattered just two hits. \u201cThe team as a whole, just feeding off each other and taking it each game, each start and keep rolling with it.\u201d\u2028<\/p>\n
The bullpen, which has mostly been strong in its own right early, threatened to light the game on fire late after the Yankees led 4-0, fueled by Paul Goldschmidt\u2019s three-run shot. <\/p>\n
Camilo Doval loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth inning before Cal Raleigh roped a two-run single off David Bednar to make it 4-2.<\/p>\n
Paul Goldschmidt celebrates with Trent Grisham (right) after hitting a three-run homer in the sixth inning of the Yankees\u2019 5-3 win over the Mariners on April 1, 2026 in Seattle. Getty Images<\/p>\n
After Bednar struck out Julio Rodr\u00edguez to end the threat, Ben Rice got a run back in the top of the ninth on his first home run of the season, which provided a bit more breathing room for when the Mariners fought back again in the bottom of the ninth, pushing across another run. But Bednar finally nailed down the final out on his 40th pitch, sending the Yankees flying home high following a 5-1 West Coast trip ahead of Friday\u2019s home opener.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally good baseball,\u201d manager Aaron Boone said. \u201cObviously pitching at a really high level. The defense was excellent on the trip overall. Some timely hitting, a couple big homers along the way. Just really good baseball and a good way to open the season and head back home into an off day and hopefully start off a nice homestand.\u201d\u2028<\/p>\n
Across 79 pitches Wednesday \u2014 still building up after back inflammation had slowed him briefly in camp \u2014 Schlittler continued to pound the zone and attack with his three fastballs. He has still not walked a batter this season, only letting three runners on base at all across 11 \u00b2\/\u2083 scoreless innings.<\/p>\n
Designated hitter Ben Rice rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the ninth inning of the Yankees win over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Steven Bisig-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
The 25-year-old became the first pitcher in Yankees history to begin a season with back-to-back starts of five-plus scoreless innings and seven-plus strikeouts.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not afraid to throw his best stuff and come at you in the zone,\u201d said Rice, who capped off a strong series by going 2-for-3 with a walk, RBI double and the 427-foot homer. \u201cClearly he is very difficult to hit.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is still early, but this kind of start has allowed the Yankees to dream on the high-end potential of their rotation over the full season, especially with Carlos Rod\u00f3n and Gerrit Cole expected to join it before long.<\/p>\n
Cam Schlittler, who improved to 2-0, throws a pitch during the first inning of the Yankees\u2019 win over the Mariners. AP<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a week of pitching,\u201d Boone said. \u201cCredit to those guys for, along with [Austin Wells] and J.C. [Escarra] and the pitching group, coming up with a really good game plan and those starting pitchers going out there and executing at a really high level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Goldschmidt, who was only in the lineup because the Yankees wanted to give the red-hot Giancarlo Stanton a proactive day off to keep him healthy over the long haul, delivered the biggest swing in the sixth inning. The veteran first baseman crushed a three-run shot off right-hander George Kirby to put the Yankees ahead 4-0 \u2014 set up by Trent Grisham and Rice each drawing a walk \u2014 creating some cushion for Schlittler and Co.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGo beyond the box score with the Bombers\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing efficient, limiting the walks, limiting the hits and getting the strikeouts,\u201d Schlittler said, \u201cis a good way to put the team in a position to win.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SEATTLE \u2014 It is not always going to be like this. A Yankees starter is going to give…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":660561,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2376],"tags":[5,731,20455,4,1690,62,2548,2547,65,185,142],"class_list":{"0":"post-660560","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-yankees","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-ben-rice","10":"tag-cam-schlittler","11":"tag-mlb","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-yankees","14":"tag-newyork","15":"tag-newyorkyankees","16":"tag-seattle-mariners","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-yankees"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116340066047507048","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}