How Clarke Schmidt has coped with all the false starts on his slow climb to the Yankees rotation

OAKLAND — The Yankees made UCLA right-hander James Kaprielian their first-round selection in the 2015 draft. He was later included in the trade with the A’s that brought Sonny Gray to the Yankees, and had to overcome a series of arm injuries. Now 28, he finally has become a fixture in the A’s rotation and has shown flashes of excellence.

“It’s taken awhile,’’ Kaprielian said before he was lit up for eight runs in 2 ⅔ innings in a 13-4 Yankees victory Thursday night at Oakland Coliseum.

Clarke Schmidt can relate. He has taken a similar route, though Schmidt remains with the Yankees after being drafted — also with the No. 16 overall pick, also as a college right-hander (out of South Carolina) — two years after Kaprielian.

Schmidt, who was named as the starter for Sunday’s game after Nestor Cortes landed on the IL on Thursday due to a strained groin, has been limited by arm injuries for much of his career. But he’s been healthy in 2022.

Schmidt, 26, spent most of the first month of the season with the Yankees, alternately pitching in high-leverage situations and long relief before being demoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for the first time because of a roster crunch. He’s been optioned to the minors three times this season in all. After Scott Effross became the latest Yankees reliever to land on the IL on Monday, Schmidt was summoned again.

And he picked up where he left off, with a third straight three-inning scoreless relief performance, this time against the Mets. Schmidt now has a 10-inning scoreless streak with the Yankees, though he’s allowed 15 baserunners during that span. Dating back to June 10, Schmidt has allowed one run in 15 ⅔ big league innings.

Now Schmidt is in the rotation for the foreseeable future, according to Aaron Boone.

“I’m healthy and I’m pitching well, so I’ll take it,’’ Schmidt said. “But it’s been tough. It definitely takes a toll, going up and down [to the minors] and pitching in different roles. And especially in the minors, it can be hard to maintain your focus. Motivating yourself has to be something you can do, because I know this year, every outing is important, no matter where it is.”

He didn’t need to search for motivation Tuesday, when came out of the bullpen against the Mets in front of a season-high crowd of 49,217 in The Bronx, the kind of setting Schmidt said he’s enjoyed pitching in since college.

“I always enjoyed the big games, big crowds,’’ Schmidt said. “It’s why I went to South Carolina. I wanted to be in the best conference, the SEC, and be in the biggest games. Down there, it’s the biggest thing in the world to you. It’s the same kind of thing here.”

But instead of pitching in front of 10,000 or so on a Friday night in the SEC — or 5,627, as Schmidt did in his previous minor league outing, when SWB visited the St. Paul Saints on Aug. 17 — he had a playoff-like crowd this week.

“No matter what the situation is, I’m always trying to give them a reason to have me come back up, because New York is always watching,’’ Schmidt said.

That was never more true than on Tuesday against the Mets, and it will continue to be the case with Schmidt in the rotation, finally on the verge of fulfilling the potential the Yankees saw in him coming out of college.

West coast, worst coast?

At this time last year, the Yankees dropped the final two games of a four-game series against the playoff-bound A’s to Oakland and then their next two games in Anaheim. The Yankees’ deficit behind the Rays in the AL East, which had been four games, grew to eight. And that’s how they finished the regular season, as a wild card, eight games back of the Rays.

On Thursday, in a bit of coincidental scheduling, the Yankees opened another series in Oakland with one to follow in Anaheim.

As general manager Brian Cashman noted last week, this year’s Yankees team is much different than the 2021 version, having built a substantial division lead over the Rays (and Blue Jays). Additionally, the A’s and Angels are at the bottom of the AL West. But the West Coast has not been kind to the Yankees over the years, and they visit the Rays following the Angels series.

All of it means the Yankees don’t anything the division sewn up just yet.

Sing the Dodger blues

The Yankees’ 2021 trade deadline moves are finally paying off — for the Dodgers.

Joey Gallo has returned to being the power hitter he was with the Rangers, the one the Yankees thought they were getting when they acquired him last season. Gallo had six extra-base hits and an OPS of 1.010 in his first 42 plate appearances since the Dodgers acquired him from the Yankees at this year’s deadline.

Andrew Heaney, another failed addition for the Yankees at the deadline a year ago (recording a 7.32 ERA in 12 forgettable appearances), has excelled for the Dodgers after signing with them in the offseason. Though the lefty has been limited at times by left shoulder woes, he has put up a 1.94 ERA in nine starts.

Homer omen

Just how important are Aaron Judge’s homers to the Yankees?

Judge’s MLB-high 48 home runs have come in 39 games. The Yankees are 30-9 (.769) in those games; when he homers twice, the Yankees are 8-1. In games without a Judge homer, they are just 47-39 (.547).

A different Sunday ticket

The new balanced schedule that will be implemented by MLB in 2023 is good news for fans tired of seeing the Yankees and Red Sox play on Sunday nights. The rivals play each other on just three Sundays next season: June 11 and Aug. 20 in The Bronx and June 18 at Fenway Park. As part of the new collective bargaining agreement, the Yankees will face their AL East rivals 13 times apiece in ‘23, as opposed to 19 in recent years.