Schmidt K's career-high 8 before fading vs. Blue Jays

NEW YORK -- Right-hander Clarke Schmidt knew he had to come up with a different game plan when he faced the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. In his first four starts, Schmidt allowed 14 runs in 14 1/3 innings.

During his fifth start, however, Schmidt was pitching a gem over the first five innings. But things fell apart in the sixth, and the Yankees lost to Toronto, 5-1. By dropping two games this weekend, the Yanks became the last team in the Major Leagues to lose a regular-season series.

“It’s only April. Onward and upward,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We start a tough road trip [Monday]. Overall, I think we are playing really well while we are hoping and waiting for guys to get back. But it has allowed other guys to step up, and they have done that. We just have to keep pushing right now. It’s tough, and [hopefully we] keep grinding away offensively.”

Schmidt struck out a career-high eight batters while allowing just three hits, not permitting his first knock until Matt Chapman doubled with one out in the fifth. Schmidt relied heavily on his fastball and sinker, while the cutter, which the Yankees bragged about during Spring Training, was rarely used because Toronto had a lot of right-handed hitters in the lineup.

So Schmidt had to change his mentality. That meant being aggressive and attacking the Blue Jays’ hitters.

“I flipped a switch in my mind,” Schmidt said. “Coming up, I was always aggressive, kind of like a fierce competitor, attacking at all times. I felt like I strayed away from that my first few outings. Getting back to that was my main thing.”

Because he wasn’t pitching well prior to Sunday, Schmidt also felt his back was up against the wall.

“Obviously, I wanted to go deeper in games. I wanted to give my team a chance to win, and I was [angry] that I wasn’t doing it,” Schmidt said. “I felt like I [had] to carry that rage into today and into the future and be able to be on the attack and be aggressive.”

But Schmidt’s sweeper and cutter eventually knocked him out of the game. With one out in the sixth, George Springer reached base on an error by shortstop Anthony Volpe. After Springer was erased on a fielder’s choice, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run homer over the left-field wall.

"I was patient and tried not to do too much,” Guerrero said through an interpreter. “The first and second at-bats, I was just looking for a pitch and didn't get it, then I missed one. In that third at-bat, I was looking for that pitch and I put good contact on it. You guys know what happened."

Boone didn't think about taking Schmidt out of the game when Guerrero came to the plate because the right-hander was dealing.

“I thought he threw the ball great, obviously,” Boone said. “[Schmidt] went through that lineup a couple of times. He was really electric. He was really aggressive with his sinker.”

Daulton Varsho followed Guerrero with a homer to the second deck in right field. Those three runs ended up being unearned due to the error, but they ended Schmidt’s afternoon all the same. He was taken out of the game in favor of Michael King, who struck out Chapman on a foul tip to end the frame.

“It leaves a sour taste in your mouth,” Schmidt said. “Overall, I’m happy with the progression that I made. I'll continue to take this one on to the next one and start getting on a little roll here.”

In the end, Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman outpitched Schmidt, throwing seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and striking out 11 Yankees.

His most impressive inning came in the fifth. After DJ LeMahieu led off with a double, Gausman struck out Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza and Kyle Higashioka in order to neutralize the threat.

“The split is obviously a great pitch for him,” Boone said of Gausman. “I thought he stayed unpredictable with it and used his fastball really well in different counts. We were not able to solve that split.”