“His cheeks were red” - Jazz Chisholm Jr. drops hilarious description on Cam Schlittler’s composure in MLB debut

The New York Yankees have been struck by several injuries to their starting rotation this season with Clarke Schmidt being the latest name to join the long list of injured arms.

The Bronx Bombers handed Cam Schlittler his first major league start on Wednesday against the Seattle Mariners in the wake of Schmidt's season-ending injury.

Schlittler is fifth in Baseball America's rankings of Yankees prospects, and the 6-foot-6 displayed his composure on the mound on his MLB debut against the Mariners. Following his first start for the Yankees, star infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. made a hilarious remark.

"His cheeks was red, I don't know. I don't know how calm that is, I don't know how to take that one," Chisholm Jr said after the game. "He did a great job. It looked like he was very calm on the mound."

The rookie pitcher went 5.1 innings on his debut, allowing four hits and three earned runs with seven strikeouts. Apart from his composure, Schlittler's 100 mph fastball was the highlight of his outing.

Aaron Boone hails Yankees debutant Cam Schlittler after solid start against Mariners

Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who noted Cam Schlittler's credentials during spring training, lauded his fastball and his variations.

"Especially when he went up against some of the better lineups… You saw it play, and that’s kinda been his calling card coming through," Boone said. "His size really works for him."

"It’s about being under control and being solid with the secondary stuff and I thought that was as big a deal as anything tonight -- the secondary stuff was solid for him," Boone said. "I thought it was a really composed outing."

The Yankees' offense backed the debutant with Jazz Chisholm Jr. going deep twice in the game to give the team a 9-6 win. It was a third consecutive win for the Yankees, and they will be eyeing a series sweep with a win in Thursday's series finale.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash