The New York Mets didn’t just beat their cross-town rivals 12-2 on Saturday; they made themselves heard inside Yankee Stadium. With chants ringing through the Bronx, the visiting fans had created a home-like atmosphere that obviously didn’t sit well with Cam Schlittler. The starting pitcher wanted to respond in his own style. He did exactly that on Sunday from the mound. As the New York Yankees clinched the series, the righty delivered a blunt message to the opposing fans.

“It was a little frustrating yesterday hearing all the Mets chants. I wanted to make sure I came in here today and shut that down,” Chris Kirschner wrote on X, quoting Schlittler.

The 25-year-old delivered six scoreless innings, grabbing the major league lead in ERA, allowing only 1 hit and 2 walks. He struck out 8 hitters in the process, and the Yankees had a 2-0 shutout win against the Mets. Schlittler had some long counts early, but used his trio of fastballs – four-seamer, cutter, and sinker – to frustrate the other side.

The visitors never really threatened him, except for the comebacker from Bo Bichette. The 111.5 mph hit him in the back of the right leg, creating some concern. 

Already done with 94 pitches, Schlittler noted that the pitch was bad and he couldn’t land the ball where he wanted it to, while acknowledging how great Bo is.

“Hard hit, so it’ll be a fun couple of days trying to get that recovered,” Schlittler said after they secured the Subway Series 2-1, admitting that they were in a “good spot.”

But following that sixth inning, manager Aaron Boone didn’t think twice before calling on the bullpen that delivered three scoreless frames.

Cam’s 21 starts allowing one run or fewer, including Sunday, is the most in the franchise history and the most in the big leagues this year. Only one AL pitcher in the last 110 years (excluding openers) has had more – Dean Chance of the 1964 Angels (22). He is only the fourth one with that feat at age 25 or younger. But Schlittler already got the seventh-most strikeouts by a Yankee (228) in a season.

While Schlittler can often shut the other team down, as this was his 8th scoreless start this year, guess who was the first one to do it?

A legend from 1916.

Babe Ruth.

The Mets entered the series with a 68-78 record, and even a sweep wouldn’t have smoothed their path to the playoffs. The Yankees, on the other hand, were already atop the Wild Card standings, but that didn’t make the rivalry any less exciting. 

The hosts claimed the series opener with a 6-4 win, and many thought they would have an easy triumph over their NL rivals. Yet the Mets pulled off something spectacular in the second game.

They outplayed the Yankees with a 12-2 win. Francisco Lindor recorded a leadoff homer in the first inning, and then he scored a grand slam in the eighth. The Mets had 6 home runs to level the series, and the fans took over the Yankees’ own ballpark. 

That’s why Schlittler said it was a little frustrating for him, and after he made sure the Mets could put anything on the scoreboard on Sunday, the trio of Brent Headrick, Paul Blackburn and David Bednar did the same.

Meanwhile, a home run from Ben Rice in the first inning and another 392-ft homer from Austin Wells in the third did enough to secure a victory in the rubber game. Yet, the pinstripes weren’t that great on the offensive side of things.

In the first six innings, they could only record 3 hits, two of which left the ballpark, though. Things may have looked different had Cam Schlittler not been on the mound.

The Mets were hitless till the 5th, when Brett Baty doubled off the base of the right-field wall.

Right now, he is 14-6 with a microscopic 1.95 ERA, and stirring up the MVP conversation.

Aaron Judge, who is still trying to find his rhythm at the plate, went 0-for-3 in this game. While his bat remained silent, he was not.

The captain offered his own take on Cam Schlittler’s performance, saying:

“He’s definitely pitching like an MVP. But they’ve got a Cy Young Award for a reason, best pitcher in the game. He’s got my vote, definitely, for the Cy Young.”

But the captain made sure to reiterate the grind that Schlittler puts himself through every 5 days.

“Every five days, when I know he’s going, it’s just, ‘Hey, grind down this pitcher, get one run, and let Cam go do the rest,’” Judge shared. “It doesn’t matter if we’re on a losing streak or the team is rolling. He’s the same every single day. He shows up ready to pitch.”

Since 2014, no pitcher has won MVP. It was the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw. But this year, rotational staff are very much in the conversation.

Astros’ Yordan Alvarez and the Rays’ Junior Caminero, along with Schlittler.

“It’s been done before, right?” said Cody Bellinger, a teammate of Kershaw’s with Los Angeles. “That was a pretty outstanding year for Kersh, and Schlitt’s been doing such an amazing job. That’d be very exciting.”

In fact, the skipper, too, is hopeful.

“I think valuable is a good word. He might be the MVP, too,” manager Aaron Boone noted. “He’s been awesome. Just an awesome season, and hopefully there’s a lot left in the tank.”

The way the young pitcher dominated the Mets lineup offered little to argue against Cam Schlittler’s position in the MVP race. But for now, the team has to focus on his recovery, as they are so near to another postseason berth.