Clarke Schmidt strikes out three in second rehab start as Yankees right-hander builds to bullpen role

Yankees right-hander Clarke Schmidt concluded his second rehab start on Wednesday, as he nears his return to the Major League Baseball squad. Although it was a generally successful outing, the young pitcher struggled in the first inning. Following the completion of the initial two outs, Lehigh Valley managed to score the first run of the game, courtesy of a double.

Schmidt responded by getting Alex Binelas to fly out, stranding a runner on second base. However, Schmidt's performance remained consistently strong throughout the game. In the second inning of his start, Schmidt struck out two batters in a 1-2-3 frame, effectively ending his pitching duties for the night. Schmidt allowed 23 pitches (20 of which were strikes) while conceding one run on two hits and no walks across his two innings of work.

This performance marked an improvement over his first rehab start, where he threw just 20 pitches, allowed two runs on two hits in 0.2 innings, and struck out two batters. It remains uncertain whether this will be Schmidt's final rehab start as he continues his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Schmidt, 30, expressed satisfaction following his initial rehab start and anticipates sufficient stretching to pitch out of the bullpen upon activation.

With the absence of Fernando Cruz, the Yankees are in the process of assembling a bullpen comprising former starters, including Schmidt and Luis Gil, who was recently activated.