Yankees waste another Clarke Schmidt gem as ‘frustrating’ trend continues

Clarke Schmidt continued to dazzle on the mound Monday night despite the Yankees’ 1-0 loss to the Angels.

The 29-year-old threw 7 ²/₃ innings of shutout ball — extending his scoreless streak to 18 ¹/₃ innings.

“I feel very comfortable out there, not trying to do too much and staying within myself and trying to control myself a little bit more,” Schmidt said. “The misses are a little bit finer and just getting into really good areas.”

Schmidt last gave up a run in the first inning of the Yankees’ 4-0 loss to the Guardians on June 4, when he allowed three runs in the first before settling in and pitching into the sixth inning.

He then tossed six scoreless innings against the Royals last Wednesday before Monday’s dominant outing, in which manager Aaron Boone thought Schmidt may have been at his absolute best.

“Maybe as good as he’s been, that’s saying something because he’s had a lot of really good outings,” Boone said. “I just thought he was so efficient, even his misses. … He wasn’t spraying the ball at all, which he has done at times this year. I thought he was just really sharp with his stuff. … He’s expanded his arsenal a little bit.”

But nonexistent run support has become a pattern in Schmidt’s starts, as the 6-3 win over Kansas City was the only one of his past four starts in which the team scored more than one run while Schmidt was on the mound.

“[It’s] frustrating for sure,” Schmidt said. “Sometimes, you’re mashing the ball … sometimes, things aren’t going your way. Part of the game, obviously. You play 162 for a reason. You go through streaks like this, but it’s frustrating for sure.”

Monday night, the Bombers had 11 innings to get a runner across the plate and failed to do so.

They left 12 runners stranded and went 1-for-18 with runners in scoring position.

Schmidt has no doubts there will be better days ahead for the offense.

“We understand that it’s a long season,” he said. “You go through stretches like this where the ball’s not finding holes and then you go through stretches where everything finds a hole and you’re mashing everything.

“Not concerned in the slightest. I trust my guys. We all know what everybody’s capable of doing in here, so we’ll figure it out.”