Cam Schlittler Just Did What No Ace Has Done In Years
Image credit: NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 08: Cam Schlittler #31 of the New York Yankees pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays during the fourth inning in game four of the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium on October 08, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
He may be just 14 regular season starts into his MLB career, but with his two postseason starts, Yankees’ righthander Cam Schlittler is pitching like a front-of-the-rotation ace.
He’s actually pitching like an old-school ace, having managed to do something no other pitcher has done in the past four playoffs. He wasn’t nearly as electric as he was in his first postseason start, but Schlittler’s 6.1 innings on Wednesday were still quite impressive—and, by modern standards, somewhat historic.
We’re now in the era of the quick hook, as managers try to avoid having pitchers face hitters a third time through the order. But Schlittler’s dominance in his first postseason start, combined with his effective if less overpowering work in his second, means he has strung together back-to-back efforts the likes of which we haven’t seen in recent Octobers.
Combined with eight innings in Game 3 of the Yankees’ Wild Card Round, Schlittler threw 14.1 innings in his two postseason starts. That makes him the first pitcher to work 14+ innings over back-to-back postseason starts since the Giants’ Logan Webb did it in 2021. Webb is the only other pitcher who did it this decade.
Schlittler is only the 11th pitcher to pitch 14+ innings in back-to-back playoff starts in the past decade. Here’s a look at the other pitchers to do so, which is largely a who’s-who of playoff aces.
| Player | Season | 1ST STart IP | 2nd Start IP | Combined IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cam Schlittler | 2025 | 8 | 6.1 | 14.1 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| Logan Webb | 2021 | 7.2 | 7 | 14.2 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 17 |
| Adam Wainwright | 2019 | 7.2 | 7.1 | 15 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 19 |
| Max Scherzer | 2019 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 18 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 2018 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 14 |
| Stephen Strasburg | 2017 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 22 |
| Jon Lester | 2016 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Madison Bumgarner | 2016 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| Matt Harvey | 2015 | 7.2 | 8 | 15.2 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 18 |
| Jon Lester | 2015 | 7.1 | 6.2 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 14 |
| Jake Arrieta | 2015 | 9 | 5.2 | 14.2 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 20 |
Webb and Adam Wainwright are also the only other pitchers since 2015 to average seven innings a start across at least two postseason starts. Madison Bumgarner (8.1 innings per start in 2014), Adam Wainwright (2013), Roy Halladay (2011), Tim Lincecum (2010), Halladay (2010) and Cole Hamels (2010) are the nine other pitchers to do so since 2010.
