Schmidt allowed one hit and one walk while striking out five across three scoreless innings in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Rays. He didn't factor into the decision.
Schmidt received a spot start Thursday after Luis Severino was briefly placed on the COVID-19 injured list. Schmidt had not thrown more than 3.1 innings in any outing this season, so he was limited in length. However, he was very effective and racked up eight swinging strikes on 50 pitches while allowing a single as his only hit. Schmidt had already been pitching well out of the bullpen this season, and after the stellar showing in the starting role, he now maintains a 2.82 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 20:11 K:BB across 22.1 frames. Severino was activated from the IL following Thursday's game, so Schmidt will head back to the bullpen with Severino in line to take the hill when his next turn in the rotation comes up next week.