Jays’ Travis seals win off wild pitch in 12th
This season has been a trying one for Marcus Stroman, maybe even more so than last year.
A year ago his singular obstacle — what was supposed to be seasonending knee surgery — was mostly out of his control. It was a freak twist of fate and ligaments that set him on a literal and narrative course with which he was familiar: the underdog who works hard to defy the odds and prove people wrong.
This season, his first full campaign in the bigs, Stroman was supposed to fully embrace the ace mantle with which he had previously flirted. It was to be his true coming-out party.
Instead, the 25-year-old right-hander has endured a series of road blocks, but unlike last year, these have been mostly mundane and ordinary.
But he battled to right himself and aside from a hiccup after the all-star break had recently looked much improved.
“He’s been on a nice little roll,” manager John Gibbons said before Tuesday’s game.
The roll did not continue Tuesday night against the San Diego Padres, a start that was a microcosm of Stroman’s up-and-down season. He mostly cruised through the first five innings, seeing just three batters above the minimum, while earning 12 of his 15 outs either on the ground or via strikeout. But in the sixth as he tried to turn the Padres’ lineup over a third time, San Diego’s hitters started to make louder and louder contact. You could almost feel it coming as Alex Dickerson cranked a threerun homer into the 200-level seats.
In one swing, the Jays’ two-run lead was a one-run deficit.
The Jays let Stroman off the hook in the next inning when they tied it up on a bases-loaded wild pitch by Padres’ lefty Brad Hand. That sent the game to extras.
But the Jays won on a wild pitch from San Diego reliever Paul Clemens, which scored Devon Travis. STOREN DEALT: Late Tuesday night the Jays announced they had traded Drew Storen, who was designated for assignment on Sunday, to the Seattle Mariners with an undisclosed amount of cash for righthanded reliever Joaquin Benoit.