Marcus Stroman is off to a great start as a Yankee.
He proudly stepped off the mound in the eighth inning and received a standing ovation at the end of the game.
He was nearly perfect.
But that wasn’t enough.
Stroman pitched 7 1/3 innings, giving up one run, one walk, three hits and striking out six in the Yankees’ 5-4 loss to the Mariners on Monday night at Stadium. did.
However, Clay Holmes, who is almost certain to be the Yankees’ closer this year, spoiled Stroman’s treasure by giving up four runs in the ninth inning.
“Honestly, that’s baseball,” Stroman said. “We can sit here and say this, this, this, but Klay was unbelievable. I think Klay is the best closer in baseball. Very I think it was weak contact. Essentially, if they had hit the ball harder on some plays, we wouldn’t have been in this situation. He’s going to be an incredible player, so there’s no need to worry at all. That’s how baseball changes, but sometimes things don’t go as planned.”
It’s the first time Stroman has pitched more than six innings, let alone seven, since he started with the Yankees, and it’s his longest outing since May 29 of last year, when he pitched for the Cubs.
His only mistake came in the eighth inning, when he hit a solo home run off Dominick Canzone, cutting the Yankees’ lead to 3-1.
Manager Aaron Boone pulled Stroman after the home run.
Stroman’s dominance kept the Yankees’ starting pitchers scoreless.
Monday’s loss ended his winning streak at seven, but the Yankees’ starting pitcher has pitched 52¹/₃ innings over the past eight games with just five earned runs and a 0.86 ERA.
This season, the Yankees’ starting pitchers have an excellent ERA of 2.95.
“It was fun to watch,” Boone said of Stroman’s outing. “It’s probably as good as anything he’s ever done and it’s probably his best. He was coping and everything was going well. The work was quick and he I felt like I had a little bit of everything I could do to cut through them.”
The Long Island native has settled in well in the Bronx after signing a two-year, $37 million contract with the Yankees this offseason.
He certainly feels at home.
“I feel like that’s why we play the game. New York, being born here and finishing the game with a standing ovation means the world to me,” Stroman said. “I’m just trying to show love and immediately respond to the love from the audience because they don’t know how much it means to me and how much it uplifts me.”
