Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Marcus Stroman’s grandmother passed away on Friday. He took the mound for the first time on Sunday since that happened in what we all figured would be a very emotional outing for him. The right-hander struggled, making it through just three innings against the Philadelphia Phillies, as he was never able to settle in and find a groove or his command.
If we discount the rain delay debacle on April 11th, this was Stroman’s second-shortest outing of the year and the second consecutive time he didn’t last at least six innings after pitching that deep in eight straight starts from May 11th to June 17th.
On Sunday at Citi Field, Stroman gave up four runs (two earned) on five hits, three walks, and three strikeouts before handing the ball over to Corey Oswalt for a long, four-inning relief outing, which, according to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, is something he’s become quite good at. Stroman’s third inning was the toughest for him to navigate, as it started with a single from Andrew McCutchen and a walk to Rhys Hoskins. After a sacrifice bunt from Travis Jankowski and an RBI groundout from Alec Bohm, things got a little dicey.
Nick Maton drove in another run with a double before Ronald Torreyes collected a single himself. Maton was able to score, though, because of a throwing error by Luis Guillorme. Stroman finally ended the frame by striking out Zack Wheeler, but the damage was done. Once his day was officially in the books, he faced just 18 batters, throwing 74 pitches (46 for strikes).
After the game, manager Luis Rojas stated during his post-game press conference that Stroman will be leaving the Mets for a few days following the passing of his grandma for a family matter. “At this point, we want him to take care of this,” the skipper said. The right-hander won’t be traveling to Washington (and probably not Atlanta, either), but is expected to return in time to make his start next weekend against the New York Yankees in the Bronx.
