New York Yankees star pitcher Cam Schlittler is not hiding from the American League Cy Young conversation. He just is not making it the point of the next three weeks.
SNY Yankees posted a postgame clip Tuesday night in which the Yankees right-hander was asked about his award chances after another dominant start. His answer was direct.
“Pushing that to the side and focusing on these last three weeks. I feel like it’s been good so far but a lot of things can happen. If I go out there and do my job and put this team in position to win, that opportunity might be there,” Schlittler said.
The comments arrived after New York’s 5-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies at Yankee Stadium, a win that lifted the Yankees to 82-62 and clinched their 34th consecutive winning season. Schlittler worked seven innings, allowed three hits and one run, walked none and struck out 10.
The performance improved his record to 13-6 and lowered his ERA to 2.01. He has a 0.92 WHIP and 220 strikeouts in 178 2/3 innings over 30 starts, leading the Yankees in wins and strikeouts.
New York remains four games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East with 18 games left. The Yankees also hold a three-game lead over Boston for the top AL wild card and own the season-series tiebreaker.
Aaron Judge returned from a broken rib that had kept him out since May 31. The captain played six innings in right field and went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts. Heliot Ramos replaced him and hit a three-run homer in the eighth that turned a tight game into a 5-1 lead.
For the Yankees, the winning-season mark was a checkpoint, not the destination. Judge said after the game that the club’s identity has not changed.
“We’re the Yankees, and we’re going to win,” Judge said. He later added, “It’s one step towards winning the World Series and you’ve got to win a lot of games.”
Manager Aaron Boone struck the same note.
“It’s a good look at what this organization has been now for decades,” Boone said. “I’m happy we got there again but, yeah, obviously we’ve got bigger things we’re chasing.”
Schlittler, 25, has become the rotation’s constant while Gerrit Cole recovers from Tommy John surgery. The Walpole, Massachusetts, native and Northeastern product was a seventh-round pick in 2022, debuted on July 9, 2025, and made his first All-Star team this season.
His recent form has sharpened the Cy Young debate. He has allowed one run or fewer in 20 starts this year and in eight of his last nine. Tuesday was his fourth double-digit strikeout game of 2026. He and Ron Guidry are the only Yankees with an ERA below 2.50 and at least 200 strikeouts through their first 30 starts of a season.
Toronto’s Dylan Cease remains the principal challenger. Earlier this week, Schlittler called Cease “a great player” and said the award is not the main goal.
“Given where we’re at in the season, it’s not an issue to try and chase that,” he said.
After Tuesday’s start, Schlittler pointed to execution rather than hardware.
“They have a great lineup over there,” he said. “Just being able to establish the fastball, get to my spots, and the defense was great behind me.”
Boone was less reserved.
“He’s been the best pitcher in the league all year,” the manager said. Ramos, who has faced him as an opponent, put it more bluntly: “He’s one of the nastiest pitchers I’ve ever faced.”
The schedule does not ease up. New York still has two more games against Colorado, a Subway Series against the Mets and a closing homestand against Tampa Bay and Baltimore. Schlittler’s next starts will decide more than an individual race. They will decide whether the Yankees can close a four-game gap and enter October as more than a wild-card team.
That is the frame he keeps choosing. The Cy Young talk can wait. The next three weeks cannot.
