Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
After only recording one out and throwing just nine pitches before a lengthy rain delay ended Marcus Stroman‘s start on Sunday, he returned to the mound on Tuesday night to start Game 2 of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The unusual weather related circumstances that led to Stroman essentially starting this game with only a day’s rest didn’t seem to negatively affect his performance at all on the mound. He turned in one of his best outings since the Mets traded for him in July of 2019, tossing six shutout innings, striking out three, walking none, and allowing only four singles.
Stroman breezed through Philadelphia’s lineup for the game’s first three innings, where he didn’t allow any batters to reach base and he recorded all three of his strikeouts. A leadoff single by Matt Joyce in the fourth inning gave the Phillies their first baserunner, but he was quickly erased when Bryce Harper grounded into an inning ending 6-3 double play.
Stroman ran into a bit of trouble in the fifth inning. Pitching with a 3-0 lead, he allowed a J.T. Realmuto leadoff single on a line drive to right field. After getting Alec Bohm to fly out and Didi Gregorius to pop out, Jean Segura grounded another single up the middle.
Facing Adam Haseley with runners on first and second and two out, he attacked the Phillies center fielder with hard stuff, eventually getting him to fly out after throwing four cutters and a four-seam fastball. Stroman relied heavily on the hard stuff in this start, as 75% of his 86 pitches were either four-seam fastballs, sinkers, or cutters.
A double play erased another lead off single by pinch hitter Brad Miller in the top of the sixth inning, when Rhys Hoskins grounded into an inning ending 6-4-3 double play on Stroman’s final pitch of the night.
Luis Rojas used his three best relievers earlier on Tuesday in the first game of the doubleheader and the Mets are scheduled to play five more days in a row before getting an off day on April 19.
With a 3-0 lead and Stroman’s pitch count still below 90, he decided to let Stroman bat in the bottom of the sixth with Tomas Nido on third base and one out, hoping that the right-hander would be able to finish a complete game.
After having to run the bases while the Mets offense tacked on another run to make it a 4-0 lead, Rojas changed his plan as Stroman informed the dugout his legs were shaking from being out in the cold. He was replaced by Jeurys Familia, who got the final three outs to complete the shutout.
The Mets have won each of Stroman’s starts so far this season, a pattern the team hopes to continue as this season progresses. Stroman is lined up to either make his next start on Sunday in Denver against the Rockies or on Tuesday at Wrigley Field against the Cubs.
