Clarke Schmidt Was Not the Problem: Not Hitting Was

Just a couple of weeks ago, I could not have imagined that letting Clarke Schmidt continue to pitch would have been a good thing for the Yankees. Well, last night, against the Baltimore Orioles, it would have been. It didn't matter, though: They didn't hit.

Aaron Boone let Schmidt pitch 5 innings, in which he allowed 1 run on 5 hits and 2 walks. But that added up to 97 pitches, and Boone didn't dare defy Brian Cashman and let Schmidt pitch more. All bow down before the Holy Pitch Count.

So Nick Ramirez was brought in to start the 6th, and he pitched to the minimum 3 batters: Single, flyout, error. Boone brought in Jimmy Cordero, who got a double play. He only pitched to 2 batters in the 7th, with a runner reaching on another error. Wandy Peralta was brought in, and in the 8th, he gave up 2 walks and a double.

That put the game out of reach, because, as I said, the Yankees didn't hit. They wasted a leadoff single with a double play in the 1st inning, a walk with 1 out in the 3rd, 2 walks in the 4th, a walk with 1 out in the 5th, and another a leadoff single with a double play in the 7th.

Walks, especially the leadoff variety? Just as they can "kill you," they can "give you new life." Aaron Judge drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the 9th. Anthony Rizzo grounded out, but that moved Judge to 2nd. Harrison Bader struck out. Willie Calhoun doubled Judge home. There was hope: Rookie sensation Anthony Volpe was the batter. He certainly tried: He hit a drive to deep center field. But a great catch by Oriole center fielder Ryan McKenna ended the game.

It should be noted that Edwin Moscos, the home plate umpire, was squeezing Yankee pitchers all night. He wouldn't give us pitches that were clearly on the edge of the strike zone. Boone didn't like that, and yelled at him from the dugout. He threw Boone out of the game, Boone's 4th ejection of the season, and his 2nd in the last 4 games. During the argument, Boone spit on Moscos -- or so Moscos claimed. It was clearly an accident: It's not the sort of thing that Boone does.

Sometimes, a manager will get himself thrown out to throw a charge into his team. If that was Boone's idea, it didn't work: Orioles 3, Yankees 1. WP: Kyle Gibson (6-3). SV: Yennier Cano (4). LP: Schmidt (2-5). The Yankees are now 30-22, 7 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division, and in the 5th AL Playoff slot.

The San Diego Padres now come into Yankee Stadium for 3 games. One of the preseason favorites due to their high spending, it hasn't worked out too well for them so far. They are 23-27, 7 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Western Division, and 2 games out of the last NL Playoff slot. They need this series more than we do, so they may be playing hungry. Joe Musgrove, hero of their Playoff win over the Mets last season, starts for them tonight. For us, Randy Vásquez, a 24-year-old Dominican, will start, making his major league debut.