Yankees fans can't believe Aaron Boone cost Clarke Schmidt a shot at a no-hitter

New York Yankees righty Clarke Schmidt had been on a roll in the month of June, but he even outdid himself on Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles. Schmidt walked two of the first three batters he faced in the Bronx, but he was in cruise control from there, retiring 20 of the next 21 hitters he faced — with the lone exception a hit-by-pitch in the top of the fourth.

When Schmidt struck Colton Cowser out swinging to end the seventh, he was just six outs away from his first career no-hitter, and everybody at Yankee Stadium was on the edge of their seat.

The only problem? His pitch count was already over 100, and New York manager Aaron Boone decided he wasn't about to risk his young righty's health. It was JT Brubaker, not Schmidt, who took the mound in the bottom of the eighth. And because the baseball gods are not without a sense of humor, Brubaker immediately gave up a single to Gary Sanchez.

Despite the fact that their team was well on its way to an easy win over a division rival, Yankees fans were ... less than pleased.

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Yankees fans furious after Aaron Boone pulls Clarke Schmidt after seven no-hit innings

Yankees fans are all too happy to jump down Boone's throat in the best of times, but especially when the team is in the midst of a funk the way they have been for the past week or so. Add in the time-honored debate about the role of pitch counts in modern baseball, and you've got a potent brew going.

No matter that Brubaker was the one who gave up the hit, or that the umpiring crew seemed to miss a clear third strike on a Sanchez check swing earlier in the at-bat. This was Boone's fault, and Yankees fans were determined to let him hear about it.

Of course, there were also some more reasoned fans among the crowd who pointed out that Schmidt was only at 103 pitches; surely Boone could've just taken things batter by batter and monitored how his righty did?

Unfortunately, that's simply not the way that modern MLB teams function. That's not Boone's fault, and no one in his position would've done anything differently, for better or for worse.

Should Aaron Boone have let Clarke Schmidt try to finish his no-hitter?

The thing that will ultimately turn the narrative around on Boone will be wins in October and November, not in late June. These Yankees are trying to get to the playoffs, and just as importantly, make sure they're healthy when they do. That's especially true of the rotation, which is already down Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil right now and has seen Ryan Yarbrough come crashing back to Earth of late.

Amid that uncertainty, Schmidt has been a bright spot, finally making good on the promise he showed as a first-round pick out of South Carolina way back in 2017. He entered Saturday with 3.16 ERA on the year and a 1.07 ERA since May 28, blossoming into a rock-solid third option behind Max Fried and Carlos Rodon.

He was brilliant again against the O's, and he deserved to have the chance to go for baseball history. Unfortunately, "deserved" has nothing to do with it. He'd already thrown over 100 pitches, and if he pushed it to 125-130 to try and chase the no-hitter only to get hurt later this season, New York never would've lived it down. There's simply too much stress on starting pitchers to be lax about their maintenance, and protecting pitchers like Schmidt will always come before chasing individual achievements in a blowout.