Late-game Yankees heroics? Sure, but how about another “gritty” five-inning start from Marcus Stroman?
Since returning from the injured list at the end of June, the 34-year-old right-hander has been reliable, including during Thursday night’s 6-5 extra-inning victory against the Mariners. In that game, he pitched five innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
“Just another gritty performance,” manager Aaron Boone said of Stroman. “That’s another five innings — I thought he pitched really well.
“I don’t think there was anything [the Mariners] could really anticipate from him — whether it was sinker, changeup, cutter, or significantly altering speeds with various breaking balls — he provided a diverse array of pitches and kept us competitive.”
Stroman’s performance might not have been remarkable, but it was competent, which is an improvement over his outings before the IL stint.
He opened his 11th season in March with three starts in which he never made it past five innings.
He allowed seven runs across 8 ²/₃ innings in his first two starts until his struggles culminated in a five-run outing in which he didn’t make it out of the first inning and wound up on the IL with knee inflammation.
Those three outings put his ERA at a whopping 11.57.
But in his three starts after being sidelined since April 11, Stroman has posted a 3.60 ERA in 15 innings pitched.
While that post-IL ERA isn’t jaw-dropping, it’s right around his 3.77 career average.
Stroman’s recent stability may have arrived at just the perfect time, as the Yankees’ rotation looks to reach the July 31 trade deadline when they’ll likely aim to acquire another arm.
With Clarke Schmidt out for the remainder of the season due to Tommy John surgery, and Luis Gil and Ryan Yarbrough likely to need until August to make a return, Stroman being effective is needed badly over the next few weeks.
He’s keeping the Yankees in games and giving exactly what they expected when they brought him in on a two-year, $37 million contract ahead of last season.
“I’m just pitching confident,” Stroman said. “Just really allowing myself to be myself. I’m not shying away from who I am as a pitcher.”
