Toronto Blue Jays’ Marcus Stroman Makes Rehab Start, Dominates
By Jason Burke
The Toronto Blue Jays are flying high, holding a 1.5 game lead in the AL East over the New York Yankees, and bludgeoning teams at will with a fantasy baseball lineup that also works as their actual lineup. The Jays have the best run differential in the game at +197, and the only team that comes within 100 runs of that mark is the team with the most wins in baseball, the St. Louis Cardinals, at +142. The Rays have given up the fewest runs in the division at 517, but Toronto is close enough at 533 runs allowed, while pushing over 200 more runs across the plate than Tampa Bay this season.
As I said, the Jays are flying high.
On Wednesday night, 24-year-old right-hander Marcus Stroman pitched in his first game all season after tearing his ACL during a fielding drill in spring training. Pitching in A Ball for the Lansing Lugnuts, Stroman threw 69 pitches, 44 strikes over the span of 4 2/3 innings against the Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers). Oh, and he also didn’t allow a hit while striking out seven, five of which were swinging. The lone blemish of the evening was a two-out walk in the fourth to Julian Leon, the Loons’ fourth place hitter.
More from MLB News
- MLB Power Rankings: Atlanta Braves still on top with major shifting below them
- Caesars MLB Promo Code: Two Shots at Picking the World Series Winner!
- MLB Power Rankings: Atlanta Braves still on top amid a big shake-up in top 10
- DraftKings MLB Promo: Bet $5 on an Anytime Home Run, Win $150 Bonus GUARANTEED
- MLB Power Rankings: After MLB trade deadline, gap is closing on Atlanta Braves
Stroman did run into some trouble in the top of the third, after retiring the first two batters of the inning on a ground out and a strike out, Logan Landon reached on a fielding error by the shortstop. Landon then stole second, injuring his arm. The pinch-runner Jimmy Allen would advance to third on a wild pitch. It was an eventful at-bat, but it ended like so many on the night, with a strikeout.
The Loons would score seven in the top of the ninth to take the game 7-4, but with both teams having clinched a playoff berth in the first half, the real story was Stroman on this night. According to Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com, Stroman could be back in the Toronto Blue Jays’ rotation within a week, according to Jays’ manager John Gibbons. Where he’ll fit is another question, but adding Stroman, who went 11-6 with a 3.65 ERA will be a welcome addition to the Jays’ staff. Toronto starting pitchers have a 4.02 ERA on the season, 12th-best in baseball.
At this point it’s hard to tell how his dominance over lower-level minor leaguers will translate when facing Major League talent in a pennant chase, but at this point in the season adding an arm of the caliber of Stroman’s that’s fresh could make a huge difference in not only making the playoffs, but making it well into October.