Marcus Stroman ready to rock in Blue Jays’ home opener
There might not be a player in the major leagues right now that’s more energetic than Marcus Stroman. The Toronto Blue Jays pitcher isn’t afraid to show his emotions out on the field and he pitches with a giant chip on his shoulder that more than makes up for his diminutive stature. He’s not one to hold anything back.
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So just imagine how jacked up Stroman will be when he takes the mound in the Blue Jays’ hotly anticipated home opener against the Boston Red Sox on Friday at 7:00 p.m. in Yahoo Sports’ MLB Free Game of the Day. You can stream the game, completely free, at sports.yahoo.com or right here.
Toronto is coming off its first postseason run in 22 years and the fan base is desperate for an encore. Even in years when the team hasn’t been a contender, the Rogers Centre crowd has delivered a raucous atmosphere for the first home game of the season. Add in that the rival Red Sox are in town and it promises to be another memorable opener.
With AL MVP Josh Donaldson, veteran sluggers Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, and star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki making up the meat of the Blue Jays’ batting order, there’s no doubt that they’re going to put runs up on the scoreboard at a rapid rate. The question being asked about their World Series chances is simple: do they have enough pitching to win big?
Stroman is ready to answer the call.
After missing the bulk of the 2015 season after tearing his ACL in spring training, Stroman feels like he’s primed for his breakout and wants to make Blue Jays fans forget that David Price signed with Boston in the offseason real quick. The 24-year-old right-hander was solid in an opening day win over Tampa Bay, going eight innings and giving up three runs while striking out five and he has a career 3.01 ERA in 25 career regular season starts.
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So far during his time in the big leagues he’s stacked successes on top of each other, but being that ace for an entire year is a different animal. Friday’s start against a deep Red Sox lineup is as good a test as any for Stroman to show that his time to shine has arrived. It should be fun to watch.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
