There was one bright spot in Marcus Stroman's appearance on the mound Wednesday: He didn't allow any extra base hits.
Of course, giving up 10 singles and recording the same number of outs doesn't translate to much success.
That certainly wasn't the case for Stroman and the Yankees.
He allowed 10 single hits and six runs in 3 1/3 innings as the Yankees lost to the Orioles 9-7, missing out on the American League East title for the second straight day.
It was Stroman's first start since Sept. 10. Stroman played after Nestor Cortes (flexor strain) was placed on the disabled list earlier in the day, but he appeared to be sluggish.
The right-hander allowed hits to the first six batters he faced against the Orioles in an unforgettable first inning that saw the team take a three-run lead, then was struck out again in the fourth inning before being replaced.
“It was OK. No excuses,” he said. “At the end of the day, I've just got to do better. I've got to try harder to keep my team in the game, regardless of my rhythm or when I pitched last. That's what it comes down to.”
Even before this performance, Stroman was a long shot to make the playoff rotation, but now that seems even less likely.
As for Stroman making the playoffs, his chances may improve with Cortes injured, but the Yankees aren't expecting much from him at this point.
He has a 4.31 ERA and an astounding 1.47 WHIP.
In Stroman's defense, Baltimore didn't fire a barrage of laser-like pitches from him in the first innings, and the balls fell into the holes.
His inability to get hitters off the hook remains an unsolved issue, as he has only struck out one batter.
It started with leadoff hitter Gunnar Henderson hitting an infield single, followed by Jordan Westberg hitting a liner just out of reach of Anthony Volpe.
Anthony Santander singled to center field and Colton Cowser scored two runs on a fly ball down the left field line that Jasson Dominguez overran.
“There were a bunch of balls that were out and a bunch that weren't out and we just had our foot in the door,” Austin Wells said.
Luckily for Stroman, Santander was called out while trying to reach third base on a misplay by Dominguez, or else the score would have been even higher.
Stroman got Cedric Mullins to ground out with two runners on base, limiting the loss to three runs.
But he ran into more trouble in the fourth inning when Ramon Urias and Mullins singled and Henderson homered with a ball over the center field rope.
The boos continued, and Strowman's night was thankfully over.
“I felt like my throwing motion was inconsistent and the shape of the throws was different from pitch to pitch,” Stroman said. “I just didn't do what I needed to do to keep my team in the game.”
