Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Stripling Sharp In Final Start Before Deadline
Almost everything else was sloppy.
With three stranded leadoff doubles, outs on the base paths, and a bullpen blowup, Ross Stripling was the bright spot in Sunday's slapdash Blue Jays loss.
Toronto's starter finished with one run in five innings pitched, allowed just five base runners, and struck out six. Five days before the 2021 MLB trade deadline, where starting pitching and run prevention are the Blue Jays' biggest priorities, Stripling presented a compelling case to remain in Toronto's rotation.
“He was a lot better today," manager Charlie Montoyo said. "His stuff wasn’t as good, but he found a way to locate his fastball and get hitters off balance”
In the first, Stripling started toward the Blue Jay dugout before freezing on the mound. After a painted fastball, Reese McGuire lurched up and Pete Alonso stared downward, but umpire Brian O'Nora stood still, watching the pitch for ball three.
Unfazed, Stripling went back to the same spot, dropping a slider on the black and forcing O'Nora’s hand. After the strike three call, Stripling restarted his delayed walk to the dugout.
It's been a tumultuous season for Stripling, who came into Sunday with a 10.24 in July after posting a 3.18 mark in June. In 2021, the righty has posted five starts where he's failed to complete four innings, but Sunday's outing was also his sixth start with one or fewer runs against. Stripling's clean five against the Mets came just six days after he allowed six runs and recorded a single out against the Red Sox.
"He was in a great place," Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker said before the game. "Hit a little bit of a bump ... but his stuff is still fine, I think it was just a snowball effect against the Red Sox."
Stripling put out the few fires and didn't let anything snowball Sunday. After Luis Guillorme dropped a single into right field in the fifth, the Mets sent up pitcher Rich Hill with two outs. Walker visited the mound before Stripling attacked his counterpart, but Stripling fell behind 3-0 early. A mispitch away from disaster, Stripling worked back with the fastball and caught Hill on a diving full-count slider.
"I ended up 3-0, and then I went into fight mode," Stripling said.
Yes, the bottom of Toronto's rotation has been volatile, but the upside is clearly there. Steven Matz allowed just two runs in 5.2 IP Friday and Stripling righted his season with a strong outing of his own.
Stripling has a lower career ERA than Robbie Ray and has pitched in playoff games for the Los Angeles Dodgers. For a team rumored to be searching for pitching, starts like Sunday's provide internal solutions.
