Duke in the MLB: Stroman, Blue Jays stumble down the stretch

Former Blue Devil Marcus Stroman had another quality start Tuesday night, but it was not enough for the Blue Jays, who suffered a 6-2 defeat at home to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Stroman took the loss to drop to 9-8 after allowing three runs in six innings. It was another solid start for the 5-foot-8 right-hander, who has allowed three earned runs or fewer in seven of his last eight starts. But the offense once again failed to back Stroman, putting only two runs on the board against Drew Smyly of the Rays.

Stroman allowed just one hit through the first four innings Tuesday, but surrendered a three-run home run to Alexei Ramirez in the fifth inning to give the Rays a lead they would not relinquish.

After starting the season with an 8-4 record, Stroman has gone 1-4 in his last eight starts. Although he has posted a 3.59 ERA during that span, the Blue Jay offense has only averaged 3.25 runs per game, including three runs or fewer in six of those eight contests.

This offensive slide has put Toronto in a lot of trouble. The Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-2 Thursday night, but have still dropped nine of their last 13 games and are in danger of losing a playoff spot. Toronto held a two-game division lead at the start of September, but has been sliding down the standings ever since.

The Blue Jays are tied for second place in the AL East with an 80-66 record and currently hold a two-game lead ahead of the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners for the second wild-card spot. With the season winding down and a lot of intra-division play remaining, Stroman and the Blue Jays must pick up the pace in front of the streaking Mariners and New York Yankees—who are three games behind—or they could be in danger of falling out of the playoff picture.