Cam Schlittler, Jasson Dominguez continue their strong springs in Yankees' loss to Tigers
· Yahoo Sports
Cam Schlittler pitched into the fourth inning without allowing a run, but the Yankees bats went cold in their 3-1 loss to the Tigers on Saturday afternoon.
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With the loss, the Yankees are 17-11 in Grapefruit League play.
Here are the takeaways...
-In his final spring start before the regular season, Schlittler continued his dominant March. He didn't allow a runner into scoring position until the third, after Javier Baez led off with a single and made it to third base on a sac bunt and sac fly. However, Schlittler stranded Baez at third to keep the scoreless tie.
To the Tigers' credit, they made Schlittler work the second time through the order. They were patient and forced the young right-hander to throw 5-6 pitches per at-bat. With two outs and a runner on first, manager Aaron Boone pulled Schlittler after 3.2 scoreless innings (62 pitches/40 strikes). He allowed just two hits and one walk, while striking out one.
Over his three spring starts, Schlittler has allowed just one run on six hits and two walks across 9.2 IP while striking out 11 batters.
-On the offensive side, the Yankees had opportunities against Framber Valdez but could not break through until the third. Amed Rosario, starting at third base, led off with a double and Jasson Dominguez hit a one-out bloop single to put runners on the corners for Austin Wells. The Yankees backstop, who had a double earlier in the game, hit a sac bunt to first base to drive in Rosario.
-Jasson Dominguez continued his very strong spring on Saturday. He went 2-for-3 with a standup triple, hitting right-handed against Valdez. The talented outfielder was optioned to Triple-A on Friday as the Yankees outfield is cluttered to start the season, but the 23-year-old is showing the organization why he was highly touted over the years.
Dominguez is now hitting .349 with three home runs, two doubles, one triple, 10 RBI and three stolen bases across 15 spring games.
Randal Grichuk, who will make the Opening Day roster as the Yankees' fourth outfielder over Dominguez, started as the DH in this one. He went hitless and is now batting .111 in seven games after signing late this spring.
-Brent Headrick, looking for a spot in the bullpen, got the final out for Schlittler in the fourth. He's allowed two runs in seven appearances (7.0 IP) this spring.
-Ryan Yarbrough took over after Headrick and was not his sharpest. The southpaw allowed a two-out single to Kerry Carpenter in the fifth to score Baez from second. He then followed up with a leadoff walk to Jahmai Jones in the sixth and Colt Keith's single put Jones on third with one out -- Keith was thrown out at second trying to stretch it into a double. Dillon Dingler flew out to left field to push across the Tigers' second run.
In the seventh, Yarbrough allowed back-to-back, one-out doubles in the seventh to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead. However, that second double was lost in the sun by center fielder Kenedy Corona and dumped in for a ground-rule double when it should have been the second out. Yarbrough got one more out before he was pulled with a runner on, but he was stranded by Angel Chivilli as the book closed on Yarbrough's day.
Yarbrough threw 54 pitches (30 strikes), allowing three runs on five hits and two walks in 2.2 innings pitched. He's allowed four runs in three spring appearances (7.2 IP). It was just his second spring appearance since returning from the WBC.
-Although the Yankees picked up seven hits, they could only get one run across the plate. Not too surprising considering most of their starters did not play in this one. But here's how the notable names, who will likely be on the Opening Day roster, did in Saturday's game:
- Paul Goldschmidt: 0-4, 2 K
- Jose Caballero: 1-3, BB
- Rosario: 1-4, R, K
- Grichuk: 0-3, BB
- Wells: 1-2, RBI, K
What's next
The Yankees' spring training slate continues Sunday afternoon against the Phillies. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.