Cam Schlittler struck out 12 in 7 1/3 innings as the visiting New York Yankees blanked the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0 Friday in the opener of a weekend series.
Schlittler (10-6) allowed just three hits and no walks, lowering his ERA to 2.07 and boosting his American League-leading strikeout total to 157. New York hitters weren’t much better, as the Yankees struck out 12 times against Jesus Luzardo (9-5) and two relievers.
Luzardo allowed one run and three hits in seven innings, walking one and striking out nine. His only blemish was a home run by Paul Goldschmidt, who had homered just once in his previous 19 games.
With the teams combining for seven hits, Phillies fans did not have much to cheer about on a day that LeBron James agreed to join the Philadelphia 76ers. The Phillie Phanatic got into the act by mimicking LeBron’s chalk toss on the field to the roar of the crowd.
Neither team had a baserunner in the first three innings. Schlittler struck out two in the first, a pair in the second and two more in the third inning.
Goldschmidt opened the fourth with a leadoff homer against Luzardo. The New York first baseman got ahead 2-0 before sending a sinker into the right-field seats for his 16th homer of the season.
Philadelphia got its first baserunner in the bottom half when Kyle Schwarber doubled with one out. He advanced to third on a grounder but was stranded when Brandon Marsh struck out on four pitches.
New York nearly extended the lead in the fifth when its first two hitters reached base. However, Luzardo was able to escape the jam to keep the score at 1-0.
Schlittler allowed a two-out single to J.T. Realmuto in the fifth but struck out Gabriel Rincones Jr. to end the frame. He struck out two more in a 1-2-3 sixth.
After an uneventful seventh inning, the Phillies had runners on first and second with one out in the eighth. Brent Headrick relieved Schlittler and allowed a single before recovering to get Trea Turner and Schwarber with the bases jammed.
David Bednar needed only nine pitches to pick up his 19th save.
