On a day made for hitting, the Yankees’ bats finally fell in line.
Clarke Schmidt did not.
The Yankees right-hander twirled seven no-hit innings on a steamy Saturday afternoon in The Bronx, but did not get a chance to finish his chase for history because of a rising pitch count.
Schmidt matched a career high with 103 pitches to get through the seventh inning before Aaron Boone went to the bullpen, calling on JT Brubaker, who needed just one batter to end the no-hit bid.
The Yankees still one-hit the Orioles in a 9-0 win on a much-needed, get-right day for their offense, but the uber-competitive Schmidt may be left forever wondering what might have happened if he got the opportunity to finish what he started.
Schmidt, who has dealt with various injuries throughout his career (including rotator cuff tendinitis this spring), had a season high of 99 pitches before Saturday. He was coming off a 97-pitch effort five days ago in which he threw 7 ²/₃ innings, so the Yankees (44-32) had reason to be protective of their 29-year-old.
But the sellout crowd of 46,142 voiced its displeasure when ex-Yankee Gary Sánchez lined a single to center field off Brubaker to lead off the eighth inning, ending a bid to become the 13th no-hitter or perfect game in Yankees regular-season history.
As it was, Schmidt gave up just two walks — both in a 27-pitch first inning that drove up his pitch count early — and hit a batter with an errant curveball. He extended his career-high scoreless streak to 25 ¹/₃ innings while striking out five and largely breezing through the Orioles’ lineup.
By the time he took the mound for the second inning, Schmidt had a 1-0 lead to work with and the Yankees kept piling on from there — much of it against righty Zach Eflin, who lasted just three innings for the last-place Orioles (33-43).
Trent Grisham, J.C. Escarra, Ben Rice and Anthony Volpe all homered. Grisham and Volpe, who was in an 0-for-25 skid after his first at-bat Saturday, had three-hit days. Escarra drove in three runs. Eight different Yankees had at least one hit by the third inning, and the only one who did not, Aaron Judge, had walked in both plate appearances.
The Yankees’ left-handed bats in particular ganged up on Eflin, going 8-for-13 with three home runs against him.
Grisham set the tone for the day by slugging a home run in the bottom of the first for the 1-0 lead. It marked his 15th of the year — second on the team only to Judge — and second homer in the past three games after not going deep since May 30 before Thursday.
Escarra and Rice both sent souvenirs into the second deck in right field in the second inning.
Volpe’s swinging bunt down the third-base line got him off the schneid in the third inning and loaded the bases for Escarra, who hit a sacrifice fly. Oswald Peraza followed with a two-run bloop single that made it 6-0.
Volpe, who had been scheduled to get Sunday off for a breather, then went the other way for a home run in the fifth inning before Rice added an RBI triple.
