New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays

ST. PETERSBURG – The moments immediately following the roughest outing of Cam Schlittler’s young career weren’t what bothered him. The Yankees’ right-hander felt he’d handled that well, tipping his cap to the Tigers’ lineup, almost marveling that it had taken that long to be knocked around at this level. What lingered were the comments Schlittler heard and read afterward, from online chirpers eager to build a bad night into something more. The American League All-Star responded with a stellar performance on Monday night, hurling eight innings in the Yankees’ 5-1 victory over the Rays at Tropicana Field. "They want to say there's (expletive) regression because I have one bad outing," said Schlittler. "It was personal to go out there and just have a dominant start, and put this team in the right position." Put simply, Schlittler delivered an ace-caliber performance for a team that desperately needed one. His teammates appreciated the effort – as Schlittler spoke with the media after Monday’s start, Jazz Chisholm Jr. passed by and squealed in a high-pitched voice: “You’re the best, Cam-Ron!” It’s hard to argue. Schlittler’s 2.01 ERA leads the AL, and it’s the lowest by a Yankees pitcher through his first 19 starts of a season since Phil Niekro in 1984 (1.88). “It was huge. I’m not surprised he bounced back,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He was dominant, he was efficient and it was a great way to get the road trip started.” José Caballero homered twice, Ben Rice hit a late solo blast and Schlittler took care of the rest – holding Tampa Bay to three hits while showcasing velocity that touched triple digits. “He’s great. He’s electric,” Caballero said. “It’s always special, every time he is pitching. We know it’s going to be a quick one. He’s going to attack the hitters. As a defender, we like that. We don’t stay in the field for too long.” It was the first time in the Modern Era (since 1900) that the Yankees have won a game with all three of their hits being home runs, a feat last achieved by the Athletics against the Yanks on Aug. 12, 2001. It was the second game in franchise history in which they had three hits or more, all of them home runs; New York had five hits, all homers, on July 15, 2004. “It just felt good to play well,” Boone said. “It’s still a grind for us offensively, but some long balls were huge.” Having learned of his selection to the AL All-Star team earlier in the week, Schlittler is a leading candidate to start the July 14 contest at Philadelp