Clarke Schmidt was handed a three-run lead in the seventh inning Thursday night.
Four batters later, the Yankees reliever had flushed it all away.
The Red Sox roughed up Schmidt for four runs on two homers, including a three-run shot that lost the Yankees the lead before they came back to win it 5-4 in 10 innings in The Bronx.
It marked the second straight appearance in which Schmidt has given up multiple runs as he tries to make a case for a spot on the Yankees’ postseason roster. The right-hander had thrown three straight scoreless, multi-inning outings before that.
Schmidt also wiped away a strong start by Jameson Taillon, who had tossed six shutout innings before handing the ball over to him to begin the seventh.
Red Sox rookie Triston Casas greeted Schmidt with a home run that just got over the wall of the short porch in right field to make it 3-1. Schmidt left a 1-1 slider over the plate and Casas, who had been 0-for-18, made him pay.
Clarke Schmidt reacts after giving up a three-run home run. Charles Wenzelberg / New York PostKiké Hernandez followed by grounding a single through the open right side before Schmidt walked No. 8 hitter Yu Chang on a full count.
The Red Sox then pinch hit with catcher Reese McGuire, who got an 0-2 slider and ripped it for a three-run home run and the 4-3 lead. The homer landed in the bleachers in right-center field, just out of the reach of a leaping Aaron Judge.
Schmidt rebounded by retiring the next three batters — the top three in the Boston order — but the damage had been done, at least temporarily.
The 26-year-old Schmidt had been sharp in a two-inning effort against the Red Sox last week at Fenway Park, including striking out the side against the heart of the order.
Through 24 games this year (three starts and 21 relief appearances), Schmidt owns a 3.46 ERA. In his current role, he offers the Yankees important length out of the bullpen, but he was unable to provide it — or hold the lead — on Thursday.
