For eight innings, Sunday’s finale in Tampa Bay was pitching duel, with Marcus Stroman going toe-to-toe with Jake Odorizzi (and then reliever Erasmo Ramirez) in a 1-1 game. Both starters were on their game, with their only mistakes being pitches that got deposited into the bleachers by the opposition’s best hitters – Josh Donaldson taking Odorizzi deep in the fourth and Evan Longoria countering with a solo blast in the sixth.
Seeing the back-and-forth on the bump, Jays fans had to feel uneasy about things heading into the ninth, as there have already been a couple instances this season – including Saturday evening – where tight games turned to losses in the late stages; terrific pitching performances rendered moot by an inability to get key hits when they were needed most. But that’s not how things shook out on Sunday.
Darwin Barney laced a pinch-hit double into the left field corner to lead things off with Michael Saunders and Donaldson drawing walks behind him to load the bases. After Jose Bautista struck out, Edwin Encarnacion hit a grounded towards second that would have been a double play ball, but Tampa Bay was employing a shift and were only able to get the out at first, allowing Barney to scamper home with the go-ahead run and the inning to continue. And Troy Tulowitzki made it count, blasting a three-run shot into the stands in left to give Toronto a 5-1 lead, which ended up being the final.
This was the kind of “rally for the starter” win Toronto needed, especially as they head home for four against the West-leading Texas Rangers and three opposite the Los Angeles Dodgers next weekend. What’s even better about it is that it wasn’t the big dogs that made it all happen.
Barney has been outstanding all season and kicked things off with some smart hitting, expecting a breaking ball from Rays reliever Xavier Cedeno after watching him pitch Saturday and lashing one into the corner to kick things off. Saunders and Donaldson showed patience to get on base, but it was Tulowitzki’s clubbing shot that sealed the deal. Even though he’s had some key knocks during his limited time in Toronto, the shortstop is still hitting just .172 for the season, so it’s hard to expect him to come through in the clutch, but that’s just what he did.
The plus of getting a great start from Stroman is that it meant Toronto didn’t have to go to the bullpen until bringing in closer Roberto Osuna to work the ninth, even though it was a non-save situation. The innings between the starters and the young Mexican closer have largely been shaky this season, so transitioning from one to the other is a much more fluid, much safer progression for the pitching staff as they continue to figure things out on the back end.
Player of the Game: Marcus Stroman
This was one of those starts that cements Stroman as the ace of this staff and serves as a harbinger of how good he could be going forward. He was locked in from Jump Street and limited Tampa Bay to three hits and five baserunners all game, striking out a career-high nine over his eight innings of work.
If Toronto is going to find a rhythm, get on a roll and be playoff contenders this season, they are going to need big performances like this from their front of the rotation bulldog. Stroman has had a little bad luck this season, with all seven runners he’s turned over to the bullpen so far this year coming across to count, but he still sports a 0.95 WHIP and ERA under 4.00 and a 4-0 record.
On Deck: The Jays head home to begin a four-game set with the Texas Rangers on Monday. The visitors send A.J. Griffin to the hill, while Toronto counters with R.A. Dickey.
