Cam Schlittler’s night turned fast in the first inning, and once it started slipping, the Detroit Tigers kept hitting him harder.
The New York Yankees right-hander looked on the verge of getting through the opening frame cleanly when Kerry Carpenter sent a deep fly ball toward center field at Yankee Stadium. Spencer Jones, listed at 6-foot-7, tracked it to the warning track and then to the fence, where he appeared ready to make the catch. Instead, the ball slipped out of his glove and went over the wall.
Schlittler’s reaction told the rest of the story.
Riley Greene followed with a 424-foot solo homer on a 97-mph sinker that didn’t sink much, and Colt Keith added a six-pitch single to center to keep the inning moving. Then Spencer Torkelson worked a 10-pitch at-bat, fouling off six pitches, including three in a row, before launching a two-run homer that put Detroit up 4-0.
What could have been a quick first inning became a 36-pitch grind. It also marked a first for Schlittler: he entered Tuesday having allowed just one first-inning run all season, but this was the first time in his big league career he gave up three homers in an inning.
Schlittler, who had been viewed as a Cy Young award candidate through the first half, finished with four home runs allowed over four innings. He had given up just six homers in his first 17 starts this season, but Detroit piled on in a 9-3 win.
The Tigers improved to 37-49, while the Yankees fell to 48-37 and have now lost six straight.
His earned-run average jumped from 1.62 to 2.08.
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