Duke in the MLB: Stroman quiets Orioles in wild-card win

In their do or die matchup with the Baltimore Orioles in the American League wild-card game Tuesday, the Toronto Blue Jays turned to former Blue Devil Marcus Stroman to pitch them into a Division Series rematch with the Texas Rangers.

After six solid innings of work by Stroman and some late-game heroics by Edwin Encarnacion, the Blue Jays advanced in the playoffs with a 5-3 victory in Toronto against the Baltimore Orioles. Although Stroman did not get the win, he still delivered a strong performance, giving up two earned runs on four hits to go along with six strikeouts.

Against a Baltimore lineup that hit more home runs than any other team in baseball this year, Stroman limited the damage to a single two-run shot off the bat of Orioles designated hitter Mark Trumbo, who led the league in home runs this year with 47. Aside from that one blemish, Stroman was remarkably efficient, needing only 81 pitches to get through six innings.

For Stroman, the victory was also a measure of revenge against an Orioles team against whom he posted a 1-2 record and a dismal 7.04 ERA in the regular season.

#HDMH pic.twitter.com/AfeYbyRLRO

— Blue Jays (@BlueJays) October 5, 2016

Although Stroman put in a quality start, the hero of the night for the Jays showed up in the 11th inning. Encarnacion, who finished tied for third in the league with 42 home runs, came up to bat with runners at the corners and one out. Rather than turn to ace closer Zach Britton, owner of a miniscule 0.54 ERA and a perfect 47-for-47 in save opportunities this year, Baltimore manager Buck Showalter instead left Ubaldo Jimenez in to face Encarnacion after giving up two hits.

On the first pitch he saw, Encarnacion hammered a no-doubter into the upper deck in left field, sending Toronto into the next round and ending the Orioles’ season in dramatic fashion. Next up for the Jays is a rematch of last year’s drama-filled ALDS against the Rangers beginning Thursday night in Arlington, Texas. Stroman is slated to pitch Game 4 of the best-of-five series Monday night if it is necessary.