Stroman pumped for Jays’ opener
As Aaron Sanchez made his way through the Blue Jays’ clubhouse on Wednesday afternoon, his teammate and fellow pitcher Marcus Stroman gave him a big hug and screamed: “That’s how you pitch, dawg!”
Stroman was in high spirits because it had been confirmed that he would be pitching opening day on April 3 in Tampa, and probably in the Jays’ home opener as well on April 8 against the Boston Red Sox.
“Obviously I’m focused on the opener and beating the Rays, but if I go open the home opener, too, that would be awesome ... I can’t wait to get back to the city and just kind of (take in) the electricity and atmosphere.”
What Stroman really wanted to talk about was the latest pitching performance by his friend and Toronto housemate Sanchez, who is vying for the fifth starter’s gig. Sanchez had another tremendous outing, throwing 6.1 innings while giving up four hits, with no runs and no walks while striking out four against the New York Mets at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium in a 3-1 Jays victory.
“I don’t know how you could be any better really,” said Toronto manager John Gibbons, who was particularly impressed with Sanchez’s secondary stuff.
The fight for the fifth starter’s gig has been a battle at spring training, with all four contenders — Sanchez, Gavin Floyd, Drew Hutchison and Jesse Chavez — pitching well. The 23-year-old Sanchez is the leading contender.
“I’m with Sanchez every single day, so obviously I’m a little biased, but yeah, I think it’s been a great competition and all the guys competing for this fifth spot are throwing the ball extremely well and that gives us options.”
Sanchez is just concentrating on each outing. “I’ll take a few things from today,” Sanchez said. “I liked the second inning, triple ( by Marc Krauss), no runs scored, that’s huge for me.”
Sanchez had his fastball buzzing around 95 m.p.h. and his curve ball at 79 m.p.h., getting a couple of strikeouts with it.
The Jays are expecting big things from Stroman this year, hoping he establishes himself as a bonafide ace after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee at the beginning of last season and undergoing surgery. He was activated from the 60-day disabled list on Sept. 11 and caught fire, finishing the season with a 4-0 record. He also pitched well in the postseason. With the loss of David Price, the Jays need Stroman to step into the ace role.