Yankees Can't Keep Relying on Cam Schlittler to Rescue Them

The New York Yankees dropped Game 1 of their Division Series matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday, and now, they face an essential must-win game on Monday.

Cam Schlittler will be on the mound for the Yankees in the contest, and Freddy Peralta will be taking the bump for the the Rays. Advantage, New York.

But while it's great that Schlittler will be toeing the slab for the Yankees in such a critical matchup, the Yanks also must realize they can't win the series if they are unable to produce outside of their ace.

Considering New York was able to top the Boston Red Sox by a score of 9-2 in its decisive Wild Card victory last week with Max Fried pitching, this may seem a bit hyperbolic, but there is no doubt there is a reliance on Schlittler to rescue the Yankees right now.

Schlittler can get a maximum of two starts in this series. He'll start Game 2, and if there is a Game 5, he will almost surely pitch then, as well.

But there needs to be a Game 3 and 4 before the Yankees can even get to that point, and that will require them to actually score some runs. It will also require Fried and Carlos Rodon — two pitchers with sketchy playoff track records — to deliver.

New York was stumped by Drew Rasmussen in the opener, which should come as no surprise. He has been a Yankee killer throughout his career. But the problem is the Yankees may very well see him again in Game 4 (if there is one).

It's great that New York can hand the ball to Schlittler and confidently expect him to get a win, but what if he has an off night? Then what? It happens to the best of them, and even though the 25-year-old posted a 1.95 ERA during the regular season, he did have some wobbly starts.

It's on the Yankees' bats to step up and actually, you know, get some hits. They did it against the Red Sox. We all saw that. But they were also maddeningly inconsistent throughout the 162-game campaign ... which we saw in Game 1.

Aaron Judge is sidelined. Giancarlo Stanton just got his first at-bat since April 24, and it was only in a pinch-hit role. The Yankees are essentially without both sluggers right now, which obviously makes things more complicated.

However, they still have names like Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger and Luis Garcia Jr. who can step up. And for as frustrating as Jazz Chisholm can be, we know he has pop.

Schlittler will be taking the ball on Monday, and that's a good feeling. But beating the Rays will take a team effort. Not just for the series, but in Game 2, as well.