Yankees' Cam Schlittler Slams 'F--king Regression' Narrative, Talks 'Dominant' Start vs. Rays

Cam Schlittler is not a fan of the notion that he's regressed in his second season with the New York Yankees.

The 25-year-old starting pitcher addressed critics after a strong outing against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.

"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," he told reporters after the 5-1 win.

Schlittler struggled in his previous outing, allowing seven hits and six runs in a 9-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers last Tuesday. Four of the runs he gave up left the yard.

That was one of the worst games of his young career and was perhaps a bit worrisome for fans, as they feared a sophomore slump was coming for Schlittler.

But he quickly bounced back against the Rays, going eight innings and picking up as many strikeouts while allowing four hits and a run.

"It was huge. I'm not surprised he bounced back from arguably the toughest outing of his young career so far against the Tigers," manager Aaron Boone said. "He was great, he was dominant, he was efficient. Great way to get the road trip started."

MLB.com's Sarah Langs noted that Schlittler's 2.01 ERA is the lowest for a Yankees starting pitcher through 19 starts since Phil Niekro's 1.88 ERA in 1985. His 2.01 ERA is also good for the second-best in the majors this year, only behind Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Yankees have had a tough stretch recently, losing 13 of their last 17 games dating back to mid-June, so getting a strong outing from Schlittler to set the tone for the week is exactly what they needed.