Duke in the MLB: Stroman tosses gem on birthday

Marcus Stroman took the mound on his 25th birthday Sunday afternoon and continued his rise into the upper echelon of starting pitchers in the major leagues.

The Toronto Blue Jays’ ace and former Blue Devil gave up just one run on three hits in eight innings of work against the Tampa Bay Rays to improve to 4-0 on the year. Stroman’s only blemish during the outing was a solo home run by veteran third baseman Evan Longoria in the sixth inning, and he struck out a career-high nine Tampa Bay hitters.

Forget candles – @MStrooo6 spent his birthday blowing hitters away. #OurMoment pic.twitter.com/Dew6vUeYyk

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) May 1, 2016

Stroman had no margin for error on the mound, pitching without much run support from the Blue Jay offense. The game was tied at one when he exited after eight innings and 103 pitches, but Toronto exploded for four runs in the top of the ninth—highlighted by a three-run homer by Troy Tulowitzki—to give its starter the win in a 5-1 victory.

Last Monday, Stroman had less success against the Chicago White Sox, giving up just one run in his first six innings before faltering in a costly seventh frame after the Blue Jays built a 5-1 lead. The White Sox loaded the bases against him with two outs when Toronto manager John Gibbons pulled him in favor of relief pitcher Brett Cecil. But all three hitters Cecil faced reach base safely to trim the deficit to one and load the bases for Todd Frazier, who doubled off Gavin Floyd as Chicago raced to a five-run inning.

The Blue Jays lost the game 7-5 as Stroman was charged with four earned runs in a no-decision, but the 5-foot-8 right-hander has been one of the few bright spots during a disappointing first month of the season for the defending AL East champions.