Blue Jays' Stroman confident ahead of Game 3
Toronto down 0-2 to Cleveland in ALCS
Marcus Stroman has always relished pitching in high pressure situations. The Blue Jays starter will get a chance to do exactly that in Game 3 of the American League Championship series.
The stakes will be high for Stroman on Monday night (8:08 p.m. ET). Toronto is trailing Cleveland 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, and Stroman may find run support hard to come by. The Blue Jays' mighty offence managed just one run over the first two games in Cleveland.
That's fine with Stroman, the five-foot-eight right-hander who's never short on confidence.
"I think that's why you play the game," said Stroman, clad in a camo-print cap and a black T-shirt from Toronto rapper Drake's OVO clothing line. "I think that's why you get up at 6 a.m. to work out, that's why you do two a days, to be in this moment, to be in this time.
"It just excites me, walking out there in front of the home crowd, hearing them, just kind of gives me a lot more enthusiasm and confidence kind of going into it."
Stroman, in his first full season in the majors, is already no stranger to these types of situations.
He was called upon to start the deciding Game 5 of last year's AL Division Series against the Texas Rangers, a 6-3 win punctuated by Jose Bautista's emphatic bat flip that sent Toronto into the ALCS against Kansas City.
He also pitched Game 3 of last year's ALCS, earning the Blue Jays a much-needed win to avoid going down 0-3 in the series.
"We talked earlier about [Marco] Estrada pitching big games for us last year. And Stro's done the same thing," manager John Gibbons said. "He missed all last year. You guys know the story, came back, final month, pitched some big games to get us in there.
"In the playoffs he stepped up. And he's one guy, he kind of thrives on those things. He's made a few of those starts in his young career, but he seems to thrive on them."
Stroman last pitched for Toronto in the AL wild card game against Baltimore on Oct. 4, giving up just two runs on four hits with six strikeouts over six innings in the Blue Jays' 5-2 extra-innings walkoff over the Orioles.
With a three-game sweep of Texas in the AL Division Series, Stroman wasn't needed until now. He doesn't expect the 13 days off to be an issue on Monday, though.
"Doesn't change my mindset at all. It's the playoffs. I think that kind of takes care of itself." Stroman said. "I'll be locked in regardless of how many days it is in between starts.
"I feel like I have a very good routine, and I'm able to prepare my body to throw on how many days rest, regardless. I don't think it's going to be a factor at all, nor is it an excuse. I feel just as good as if it was my normal five days, so I'll be ready to go."
While he's had success in his limited post-season starts, the 25-year-old's 2016 regular season didn't go as smoothly as he hoped.
Stroman ended the year with a 9-10 record and lost five of his last six decisions. The bright side, though, was that he didn't allow more than four runs in any of those starts and he pitched at least six innings in all but one of them.
Injury update for Cleveland
Injured Cleveland right-hander Danny Salazar threw what appeared to be a simulated game Sunday night at Rogers Centre.
Salazar has been out since Sept. 9 with forearm issues. The All-Star is not on the roster for the team in the AL Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, but he took the mound at the end of Cleveland's workout and threw to hitters.
Cleveland leads the series despite injuries to Salazar and fellow starter Carlos Carrasco.
Manager Terry Francona had not mentioned that Salazar was scheduled to throw when he held his news conference earlier Sunday.
Salazar went 11-6 with a 3.87 ERA during the regular season.
The Indians will start right-hander Trevor Bauer on Monday, who pronounced himself ready to pitch after an unusual injury. Bauer said the stitches he needed after cutting his finger repairing a drone shouldn't be an issue Monday night against Toronto.
Bauer brought a drone with him to a lighthearted news conference Sunday, and he briefly demonstrated how he cut his right pinkie on a propeller Thursday night. Bauer was initially supposed to pitch Saturday, but Josh Tomlin started instead and Cleveland won to take a 2-0 lead in the series.