When the ‘oof, finally’ moment arrived for the Yankees in the series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays, no one celebrated louder than Cam Schlittler. After all, a lot was riding on the 25-year-old entering Monday’s game, as he had faced plenty of criticism following his start against the Tigers. History wasn’t on the Yankees’ side either. The Rays had swept a three-game series against New York in St. Petersburg in late April, and the Yankees had lost each of their previous three series. This time, however, they had Schlittler leading the way.

“They want to say there’s f–king regression because I have one bad outing, so again, it was personal to go out there and have a dominant start and put this team in the right position,” Cam Schlittler said, as posted by Talkin’ Yanks on X.

For just the second time this season, the Yankees’ starting pitcher went eight innings as New York defeated the Rays by four runs. His performance was nothing short of commendable, especially after his efforts in the 9–3 loss to the Tigers went unrewarded. In that outing, he allowed seven hits and six earned runs over just four innings.

However, at Tropicana Field, he struck out eight while allowing four hits with no walks as he improved to 9-5 this season. Not just that, it was his longest start since tossing eight innings April 23 in a win over the Boston Red Sox. He even threw 72 strikes in his 101-pitch effort, and his bounce-back was not lost on Aaron Boone.

“It was huge. I’m not surprised he bounced back,” the manager said. “He was dominant, he was efficient, and it was a great way to get the road trip started.

To top that, his 2.01 ERA leads the AL, and it also happens to be the lowest by a Yankees pitcher through his first 19 starts of a season since Phil Niekro in 1984 (1.88).

While the 25-year-old’s efforts stood tall, what was also incredible was the performance the team put up. Jose Caballero homered twice against his former club, and Ben Rice hit a late solo blast. And there was obviously Schlitter, who held the opponents to three hits as his velocity touched triple digits. Such a showcase sure earned the respect of his teammates.

“He’s great. He’s electric,” Caballero said. “It’s always special, every time he is pitching. We know it’s going to be a quick one. He’s going to attack the hitters. As a defender, we like that. We don’t stay in the field for too long.”

For Schlittler, it must have felt good to silence the naysayers with a standout performance as his team finally got back in the win column. By the way, the Rays also happen to lead the AL East, with the Yankees currently sitting three games behind them.

New York Yankees deliver a dominant comeback

After losing three back-to-back series against the Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, and the Minnesota Twins, the Yankees were 49-40. But with the much-needed, crucial win against the Rays, the Yankees just might have found the momentum that was missing. They are now sitting atop the American League with +5.0 games in the wildcard scenario, and even their differential has moved to +82.

For the first time in the Modern Era, the Yankees won a game with all three of their hits being home runs. Now that’s massive, as it is something that was last recorded by the Athletics against the Yanks on Aug. 12, 2001. In fact, as per MLB.com, it was the “second game in franchise history in which they had three hits or more, all of them home runs; New York had five hits, all homers, on July 15, 2004.”

On the other hand, Tampa Bay’s Richie Palacios was 2-for-3 with an RBI single, while ​Chandler Simpson had a single that stretched his hitting streak to nine games. Then, in a five-inning outing, Griffin Jax retired the first 13 batters he faced. He allowed all three baserunners and runs during a stretch of just three batters, and that sequence ended with Caballero’s first home run, which was the only hit he gave up.

Despite the efforts they put in, the Rays lost against an ​AL East team at home for the first time in 13 contests this season. And with three more games remaining in the series, the Yankees would look to keep such momentum going if they want to achieve their World Series dream.