ANAHEIM -- Following Gerrit Cole's start on Tuesday night, the Yankees turned to Cam Schlittler to secure a series win against the Angels.
With the three-game set tied at one game apiece and New York working to keep pace with the first-place Rays in the American League East, the 25-year-old All-Star right-hander delivered eight quality innings to open the final month of the regular season before the Yankees rallied for five runs in the 10th to win, 6-3, at Angel Stadium.
Schlittler allowed just two hits and issued zero walks -- a sharp contrast to the career-high five walks he issued in his previous outing against Boston that left him admittedly annoyed.
"Just a mental shift a little bit, just a little reset," Schlittler said of his command turnaround. "[It was about] just going out there and throwing the ball, trusting that it's going to go where it needs to go. Last couple starts, I was trying to be too perfect. Today, I was able to just pound the zone."
Relying heavily on his upper-90s four-seamer and sinker alongside a sharp cutter and curveball, Schlittler dictated the tempo from the opening pitch. He struck out Mike Trout looking twice on the night -- including on a 97.9 mph four-seamer on the outside corner to kick off the seventh -- and needed just 99 pitches to complete eight frames.
"I thought his command was really good -- strike throwing was excellent again," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "I think he combined that strike throwing with the stuff we've seen all along. When he's putting the ball where he wants, he's really tough to hit. He was on the attack all night and dictating counts."
The only blemish on Schlittler came in the bottom of the seventh, when Vaughn Grissom turned on a 1-0 cutter for a solo home run to straightaway center to tie the game.
"I thought it was going to be a high, deep popup," Schlittler admitted. "Again, he got a good swing on it and made me pay for it."
Rather than letting the game unravel, Schlittler bounced back in the eighth to retire Christian Moore, Jose Siri and Oswald Peraza in order, closing his night by winning an eight-pitch battle against Peraza with a 97.8 mph heater.
By holding Anaheim to a single run, Schlittler logged his 19th start of the season allowing one or zero runs. In doing so, he surpassed Ron Guidry (1978), Whitey Ford (1964) and Jack Chesbro (1904) for the most such starts in a single season in Yankees franchise history.
"It's been beyond special," Cody Bellinger said of playing behind the young ace. "He understands what he wants to do on the mound -- he's a smart pitcher. On top of that, he's got really good stuff and he's just doing a tremendous job. He's injected a ton of energy into our locker room."
Schlittler, a 2022 seventh-round Draft pick, now owns a 2.04 ERA with 210 strikeouts in 29 starts as he continues to pad his bid for the AL Cy Young Award.