Yankees pitiful at the plate against A's as Clarke Schmidt's scoreless streak ends

Gary Phillips, New York Daily News on Jun 28, 2025

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — Clarke Schmidt had been on a roll entering Saturday’s game against the Athletics.

The right-hander, the recipient of extra rest after throwing a season-high 103 pitches over seven no-hit innings his last time out, had not surrendered a run in his last three starts. His scoreless streak extended beyond that, totaling 25 1/3 innings before he faced Sacramento.

But Schmidt’s streak ultimately ended at 28 2/3 innings on Saturday when Brent Rooker clubbed a solo homer in the fourth inning. While Schmidt now owns the longest scoreless streak by a Yankees starter since Whitey Ford went 28 innings without permitting a run in 1958, Rooker’s blast wouldn’t be the last one allowed by the pitcher in a 7-0 loss that saw the Bombers’ bats silenced at Yankee Stadium.

Nick Kurtz did the real damage, launching a three-run shot off Schmidt in the sixth inning. Schmidt finished the frame and ended his afternoon with four earned runs, two walks, seven strikeouts and 85 pitches as his ERA jumped from 2.84 to 3.09.

The A’s managed another run in the eighth after the Yankees — namely Austin Wells, Allan Winans and Paul Goldschmidt — couldn’t catch a popped-up bunt in front of home plate. Tyler Soderstrom capitalized on the sloppy play, lofting a sac fly to left before an Austin Wynns single plated two more runs with the help of a Cody Bellinger throwing error.

The Yankees’ lineup, shut out for the sixth time this season, tallied just three hits for the game and two against JP Sears, who took a 5.44 ERA into the game.

The southpaw, who debuted with the Yankees in 2022, lasted 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He also walked three and struck out four over 90 pitches before the Athletics’ bullpen posted a few more zeros.

Aaron Judge came a few feet short of snapping the Yankees’ dry spell in the sixth inning, as he hit a fly ball to the warning track in center with a man on first. Alas, Denzel Clarke made the catch, and the inning ended without a run for the Yankees.

Sacramento’s pitching staff entered Saturday’s game with a .267 batting average against and a 5.42 ERA, the second-worst marks in the majors, but the Yankees have scored just three runs through the first two games of the series.

Still, they have a chance to secure a series win on Sunday. They will try to do so while welcoming Marcus Stroman back to their rotation.

The veteran right-hander has been on the injured list since mid-April with knee inflammation, which will require continued maintenance. Prior to that, he recorded an 11.57 ERA over three starts. More recently, he posted a 6.97 ERA over three rehab games at Double-A.

“I think he feels ready to go,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “so hopefully he represents that when we go out there tomorrow.”

With hopes high but expectations low for Stroman, the Yankees will square off with a familiar arm in Luis Severino, who will make his first start in the Bronx since last pitching for the Bombers in 2023.

Severino will be the third ex-Yankee to start against the pinstripers in this series after the A’s used Mitch Spence and Sears in the first two games. The veteran, not particularly thrilled to be playing at a minor league park in Sacramento, has a 6.79 ERA at home but a 2.27 ERA on the road this season.

“It’s gonna be really fun to compete here against a really good team,” Severino said before adding, “A lot of lefties up there, a lot of different faces. I feel like there’s a lot of guys having a good season out there.”