New York Yankees face Baltimore Orioles: Clarke Schmidt takes on Zach Eflin
Joshua Diemert has been contributing to Pinstripe Alley since April 2017, continually striving to gain a deeper understanding of what constitutes true value.
It’s amazing how much can change in just four days. When I last wrote about the Yankees, they were struggling with severe offensive difficulties—having lost three straight games without scoring and seemingly at their lowest point this season. However, they bounced back with a win on Thursday and put together a promising offensive performance last night. If they can keep that momentum going against the Orioles today, I’m feeling optimistic.
Last night, the Yankees managed ten hits and drew five walks, which is a solid foundation compared to where they were earlier this week. Since you can’t change past losses, the best strategy is to maintain a strong, confident approach and trust that good things will come. Zach Eflin, pitching for the Orioles today, is exactly the kind of opponent where a confident approach can pay off.
Eflin has a 4.81 ERA and 5.01 FIP this season and is experiencing his lowest strikeout rate yet, but he still challenges hitters effectively. His walk rate remains healthy at 3.8 percent, so hitters should expect to find plenty of pitches in the strike zone. In fact, he’s allowing his highest batting average since 2017—so take advantage and hit him.
Clarke Schmidt, just keep doing what you’re doing. He’s coming off a fantastic 7.2-inning performance against the Angels earlier this week, where he allowed no earned runs — his second consecutive scoreless start. Schmidt hasn’t allowed a run since June 4th, and while we’ve seen recently that even strong pitching doesn’t always guarantee a win, if he keeps performing like this, good things are bound to happen.
Today, Ben Rice gets the nod at first base and is hitting leadoff, while both Paul Goldschmidt and Giancarlo Stanton get a day off. Aaron Judge is serving as the designated hitter.
