For the second time in as many weeks, Marcus Stroman could not solve the Boston Red Sox lineup.
As the calendar turned to June, Stroman took the hill in consecutive starts against the highest-scoring offense in the major leagues, and failed to make it out of the sixth inning on both occasions.
In the first game May 28, Stroman put up three straight zeroes to start off the game as his offense staked him a 3-0 lead—but it all went south from there. Xander Bogaerts got the scoring started for Boston with a leadoff homer in the top of the fourth, and the Red Sox plated four more in the fifth frame before chasing Stroman with two more runs in the sixth.
However, Toronto stormed back with a furious rally in the final two innings, scoring six runs in the eighth and ninth innings to come away with a 10-9 victory. The comeback saved Stroman from suffering the loss in a game in which he allowed 11 hits and seven earned runs in just 5 1/3 innings.
This weekend, Stroman struggled again facing Boston, but there was no offense to bail him out this time around. The Red Sox scored in every frame but one against the Toronto right-hander, who yielded nine hits and six earned runs in 5 2/3 innings. After those two starts, Stroman's season ERA ballooned nearly a full run from 3.89 to 4.82.
The other former Blue Devil hurler in the bigs—Milwaukee Brewers' left-hander Chris Capuano—was placed on the disabled list May 26 due to elbow soreness in his pitching arm, a day after giving up a two-run home run to Gordon Beckham of the Atlanta Braves in one inning on the mound. Capuano has made 16 appearances out of the bullpen for skipper Craig Counsel this season, fanning 27 batters in 23 innings with a 4.13 ERA.
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