Clarke Schmidt holds Orioles hitless through seven innings, but Yankees can't complete no-hitter in 9-0 win

Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News on Jun 21, 2025

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — It’s been nearly 26 years since a Yankees pitcher threw a no-hitter in the Bronx.

Corey Kluber threw one in Texas in 2021, and Domingo German hurled a perfect game in Oakland two years later.

But the Yankees’ last no-no in front of their home crowd came on July 18, 1999, when David Cone delivered his perfect game against the Montreal Expos at the old Yankee Stadium.

That nearly changed on Saturday afternoon.

Clarke Schmidt hurled seven hitless innings in the Yankees’ 9-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles, but the O’s broke up the bid to begin the eighth inning after JT Brubaker entered in relief.

Schmidt threw a career-high 103 pitches to get through seven innings, after which a sellout crowd of 46,142 gave him an ovation in an acknowledgment that his stellar afternoon could be done.

Still, some groaned when Brubaker entered from the bullpen to start the eighth.

Former Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez greeted the right-handed Brubaker with a clean single on a 3-2 sinker to begin the frame, denying the Yankees what would have been the first combined no-hitter in franchise history.

The red-hot Schmidt walked two batters in the first inning and plunked Ryan O’Hearn in the fourth, but he was otherwise spotless.

He retired his final 11 batters, the last of which, Colton Cowser, flew out lazily to left field to end the seventh.

Schmidt has not allowed a run in any of his last three starts, extending his career-high scoreless streak to 25 1/3 innings.

Saturday marked Brubaker’s first MLB appearance since 2022, when he was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023 and missed the start of this season after suffering cracked ribs during spring training.

He threw two scoreless innings on Saturday.

The pitchers didn’t need much run support, but the Yankees provided plenty anyway.

They pounded 14 hits, including four home runs, in a far cry from their recent cold spell at the plate.

Much of the Yankees’ offense came against Orioles starter Zach Eflin, whom they tagged for six runs on 10 hits in three innings.

Entering Saturday, left-handed batters were hitting .305 with a .625 slugging percentage against the right-handed Eflin.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone loaded his lineup with lefties to face Eflin, using Ben Rice as his leadoff batter and Trent Grisham in the No. 2 hole while giving righty hitters Paul Goldschmidt and Giancarlo Stanton the day off.

That proved to be a winning strategy, as left-handed hitters went 8 for 13 with three homers and four RBI against Eflin.

Grisham hit a solo home run in the first inning, while J.C. Escarra and Ben Rice both struck solo blasts in the second.

The Yankees rallied for three runs in the third, with Escarra’s sacrifice fly and the righty-swinging Oswald Peraza’s two-run single giving the Yankees a 6-0 lead.

Anthony Volpe reached on a slow-rolling infield single in the third to snap an 0 for 25 slide, then drilled a solo home run of his own in the fourth inning against Orioles reliever Andrew Kittredge.

Volpe added another single in the seventh and finished 3 for 4.

After losing six games in a row — and totaling six runs in that stretch — the Yankees have won two of their last three games and totaled 19 runs in them.

They go for a season victory over the O’s on Sunday afternoon.

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