There's no franchise with as rich of a history as the New York Yankees, making it more difficult to set a new standard while wearing pinstripes than playing for any other organization. But second-year pitcher Cam Schlittler did just that on Friday night. 

In leading the Yankees to a 5-0 shutout win over the Cincinnati Reds, Schlittler recorded a historic performance that the fans in attendance will always remember. 

Cam Schlittler's career-high in strikeouts led a historic performance 

Schlittler struck out 13 batters in six innings of work, allowing no runs and just four hits without walking anyone. He was so dominant that, at 25, Schlittler did far more than achieve a new career-high for strikeouts in a game. 

Schlittler, who made his MLB debut on July 9, 2025, became the youngest pitcher in Yankees history to ever post 13 or more strikeouts with zero walks. 

Before Friday, Schlittler's previous season-high strikeouts was nine from back on May 15.

Cam Schlittler has numbers that have put him among the best pitchers in baseball in 2026 

The gem of an outing moves Schlittler's season record to 8-3 and keeps his ERA below 2.00 at 1.71. He also has 109 strikeouts and a 0.89 WHIP in 95.0 innings pitched. Schlittler's 2026 comes after he went 4-3 with a 2.96 ERA in 14 starts as a rookie. 

And most importantly for a Yankees team still without Aaron Judge, Schlittler's individual prowess allowed New York to hold steady at the top of the American League East. The Yankees are now 46-28 and hold a three-game lead over the next closest team to them in the Tampa Bay Rays.