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Toronto Blue Jays: Marcus Stroman returns to early season woes

By Paul Taylor

TORONTO, ON - JULY 4: Marcus Stroman #6 of the Toronto Blue Jays hands the baseball to manager John Gibbons #5 as he is relieved in the fifth inning during MLB game action against the New York Mets at Rogers Centre on July 4, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - JULY 4: Marcus Stroman #6 of the Toronto Blue Jays hands the baseball to manager John Gibbons #5 as he is relieved in the fifth inning during MLB game action against the New York Mets at Rogers Centre on July 4, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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After a couple of strong outings, Marcus Stroman reverted to his early season struggles as the Toronto Blue Jays lost 6-3 to the New York Mets on Wednesday night.

Things were looking good for Marcus Stroman entering Wednesday’s game versus the New York Mets. After returning from the disabled list, he had produced two strong performances for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Unfortunately for Stroman and the team, he reverted to his early-season struggles, resulting in a 6-3 loss to the Mets at the SkyDome.

The 27-year-old allowed six hits, four walks and, most importantly, six runs. As a consequence, he was chased from the game after just 4.2 innings and charged with the loss.

The defeat took Stroman’s record to 1-6 on the season in 10 starts. In the process, concerns for the team’s theoretical ace now return firmly to the surface.

Coming into the campaign, the 2012 first round draft pick was expected to continue his fine form from last year. Instead, he has endured a nightmare season which no one could have predicted.

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Stroman is on course for the worst season of his five years in the Majors. This is evidenced by career-worsts in a number of categories including; ERA, hits and walks per nine innings, FIP and WHIP.

Understandably, thoughts now turn to if this is just one of those seasons for the Medford, New York native, or a sign of something worse. Fair or not, it’s tough to avoid comparisons to Ricky Romero, whose career completely fell off the rails after looking like a bona fide star during his first three years in the Majors.

To be fair to Stroman he didn’t try to make any excuses after the loss, while remaining positive despite the disastrous outing. As per Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com, the righty said:

"“I just didn’t have a feel for anything today. From pitch one, to be honest with you. I walked the first batter. That’s super uncharacteristic of me. I just had trouble getting my grip on pitches, but it is what it is and I just look forward to the next one.”"

Blue Jays fans can only hope Stroman gives them reason to look forward to his next outing. While the team is realistically out of wild card contention, the pitcher has to prove he can get somewhere back to what he is capable, or risk further comparisons to Romero.

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On a more positive note, Russell Martin enjoyed a fine individual performance, with three hits on the night. As a result, he is now one of seven active players with 500 hits in both the American and National League.

Next: Marco Estrada compromises his trade value

What’s your take on Stroman’s struggles this season? Is he just having a bad year, is he being compromised by his recent shoulder injury, or is this a sign of something more serious/long-term? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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