The results suggested some progress, at least on paper.
He pitched well in all but one of his starts in August, and in his most recent start, where he was unable to complete the fourth inning, he returned to his usual Marcus Stroman-like form, which was unusual for his late-season performance.
This time, against the Royals, who he and the rest of the Yankees might face again in the postseason, Stroman felt he had control over his sinker.
He gave up just three runs, which didn't hurt manager Aaron Boone's reason to include him in the postseason starting rotation.
But Kansas City starting pitcher Seth Lugo silenced the Yankees' lineup and Stroman, who gave up seven hits and three runs in 5 1/3 innings, did more damage than the Yankees could overcome in a 5-0 loss in the Bronx on Tuesday.
“We made a couple of errors where we could have gotten runners out and extended our lead,” Boone said, “but he gave us three runs going into the sixth inning and with how Lugo was doing it looked like we could have extended our lead even more.”
If Stroman is to be included in the Yankees' postseason starting rotation, his final four starts in August will be the main reason for that.
Those appearances saw his ERA rise to 2.53, and his ERA for the year dropped from 4.10 to 3.81 by the end of the month.
But the Yankees are still struggling behind ace Gerrit Cole heading into the postseason, with Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil, Clark Schmidt, Nestor Cortes and Stroman all trying to fill the remaining spots.
Come October, someone, possibly even Stroman, will be in the bullpen.
That adds importance to Stroman's final start, and on Tuesday he was forced to match Lugo's seven scoreless innings as best he could.
Stroman didn't allow any extra-base hits, but the Royals tallied seven singles, including one in the third inning when catcher Salvador Pérez hit a through ball down the left field line to the corner, sending first baseman Bobby Witt Jr. home for the inning's second run.
“I feel like he can handle any pitch,” Stroman said of Perez. “He's one of the best catchers of all time. Sometimes I feel like you should just throw the ball up the middle. If you do your best and throw the ball from home plate and execute it, he'll find a way to get a hit.”
Stroman allowed runners in all six innings, but thought his pitching motion was back to what it was before the disastrous loss to the Rangers.
Boone said before the game that it all depended on Stroman's control.
He didn't necessarily need to adjust anything before Tuesday, but rather just find the same consistency that saw him give up just six runs over four starts in August.
“I always try to keep my team within striking distance,” Stroman said. “I always try to keep them under two or three runs because I know how dangerous we can be at any given time.”
He avoided crossing that threshold against the Royals.
So far, he has given up three runs or fewer in 20 of his 28 starts.
But it still wasn't enough in what could be another matchup against Lugo next month.
