Yankees Finally Find Silver Lining in Blowout Loss to Tigers

The New York Yankees have one thing to look forward too from the last few days, and it's a small, but hopefully consequential silver lining.

New York Yankees relief pitcher Yovanny Cruz (96) reacts after getting taken out of the game in the sixth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It feels like every time the New York Yankees take the field, the first inning sees one team blow up. Case in point during Tuesday's game against the Tigers, when Cam Schlittler allowed three homers and four earned runs in the first inning. That was an unsettling start to a night for anybody who decided to take the trip to River Avenue.

It's hard to find any positives during an ugly stretch in which the Yankees have dropped six straight. It feels like there is no relief in sight, but there is one silver lining in all of this.

Yovanny Cruz returned to a big league mound in the late innings, and he was awesome. It was the type of performance that hopefully caught some attention in the front office because he can be a solid piece in the bullpen.

New York Yankees pitcher Yovanny Cruz (96) reacts after striking out two batters in the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays, in his major league debut at Yankee Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Lost in the box score beneath the ugly lines of Schlittler and Ryan Yarbrough was Cruz tossing two shutout innings. He didn't allow a walk or a hit and struck out three.

Cruz's stuff

Cruz's heater was on display, and his most sluggish fastball on the night was 100.6 mph. The rest ranged between 101 and 101.5. It was the type of wicked heat the Yankees haven't seen much of this year outside of Camilo Doval, and it's hard to give any praise his way for now, given the way his season has gone.

The fastball wasn't the most impressive part of Cruz's night, though. His splitters and sliders were. Cruz's slider topped out at 93.4 mph, averaging 91.8. His splitter was just as nasty. Of the seven he threw on the night, four were over 90 mph. The three that weren't were right on the cusp, at 89.

Yovanny Cruz's Slider was the Highest Grading tjStuff+ Pitch from yesterday pic.twitter.com/M47vus35Ik

— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) July 1, 2026

To put that into context, Yarbrough averaged 86.4 mph on his fastball — lower than both Cruz's slider and splitter.

Keep Cruz up

If there is one thing the Yankees shouldn't do from here, it's option Cruz back to the minors. If he struggles, it's one thing. A Scranton shuffle would be warranted. Until that happens, he should at least get some runway to see if he can be an effective piece down the stretch.

Cruz's stuff is so good that there's a chance that even a trade deadline addition wouldn't be topping him on the radar gun. The only other arm with the ability to do that in the organization, beyond Doval, is Carlos Lagrange, and he should be up at the big league level soon.

There's an opportunity here for the Yankees to have a trove of hard throwers ready to go.