CLEVELAND — For Game 3 of the ALCS on Thursday, Clarke Schmidt will return to the mound where he suffered perhaps his biggest defeat two years ago in the playoffs.
Thrust into an unfamiliar spot in the bottom of the ninth of Game 3 of the 2022 ALDS against Cleveland, Schmidt replaced Wandy Peralta with two on and one out and allowed a run-scoring single, an infield hit and then — after a strikeout — a two-run, game-winning single to Oscar Gonzalez.
The Yankees went on to win that series, but the loss still stings for Schmidt, who gets the start at Progressive Field looking to build on a 2-0 series lead.
He’ll go up against left-hander Matt Boyd.
“Failing and not getting the job done is something you always remember,” Schmidt said of the ALDS defeat, when he was used because Aaron Boone said Clay Holmes was unavailable. “For me, it was a learning moment about how to make adjustments and do better. I’m grateful for it, but it sucked in the moment.”
The right-hander pitched well in Cleveland during an April start this season and made his first postseason start last week in Kansas City in a win — allowing two runs on four hits in 4 ²/₃ innings — so he won’t be unfamiliar with the setting.
“I thought that game in the [2022] playoffs was gonna be my moment and it didn’t go my way,” Schmidt said. “Afterwards, I said, ‘I can’t wait to get back and have another chance.’ I got that in Kansas City and want to do it again [Thursday].”
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He pitched well during the regular season, but was sidelined for three months with a lat strain before he returned to make five September starts. When healthy, the 28-year-old was as effective as any member of the rotation, with a 2.85 ERA.
And he’ll be looking to get the Yankees to within a game of the World Series, but with the team’s attitude being that nothing is locked up.
“The momentum can change so quick,” Schmidt said of the series. “I feel like we show up and it almost feels like we’re down, in a sense, in the locker room. We’ve still got a job to do. We know that we’re going on the road in a tough environment… We know these next two games are pivotal games, and we’re trying to get the job done as quickly as we possibly can.”
