Clarke Schmidt and Nestor Cortes teamed up to pitch a four-hitter, leading the New York Yankees to a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday and securing their 32nd consecutive winning season.
Schmidt pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing four hits in his first major league game since May 26. Cortes (9-10) came in for relief, marking his first appearance in that role since 2021.
With Baltimore losing 7-1 to Tampa Bay, the Yankees (82-60) moved back into first place in the AL East, leading the Orioles by half a game.
Cortes admitted he was frustrated when he learned he would be pitching in relief, but he expressed his commitment to his team. “I’m never going to back down from a challenge,” Cortes said. “I’m never going to leave my teammates out to dry.
You’re always going to get my best effort no matter if I’m happy or not. That’s what I did today. I came out there and proved I can be put in any situation. From here on out, if that’s my role, I’ll accept it.”
Schmidt, who had been out with a right lat strain, threw 75 pitches, with 44 strikes. “I felt like I still had a lot of strength and I wasn’t fatiguing at all,” Schmidt said.
The Yankees achieved their second consecutive shutout and won their first series since taking two out of three from Colorado from August 23-25. Their streak of 32 straight winning seasons is the second-longest in major league history, behind the Yankees’ own run of 39 seasons from 1926 to 1964.
Chicago (72-70) has lost four of its last five games during a crucial homestand as it tries to secure a spot for the third NL wild card. The Cubs defeated Pittsburgh 12-0 on Wednesday but have scored only three runs in their last five games, getting shut out three times.
“We feel like we have a good enough ballclub to be in the playoffs and in the picture, but we’re going to have to play a little bit better and keep pushing here,” left fielder Ian Happ said.
Cubs right-hander Javier Assad (7-5) gave up one earned run and three hits in 5 2/3 innings.
New York scored its first run when Austin Wells drove in Gleyber Torres with a groundout in the first inning. The Yankees made it 2-0 in the sixth when Aaron Judge stole third base as part of a double steal and scored on a throwing error by catcher Christian Bethancourt.
