Ross Stripling and Gerrit Cole Battle in Unlikely Pitcher’s Duel
Stripling #Stripling
A seventh inning home run killed what had been a phenomenal start from Stripling, as the Blue Jays lost to Gerrit Cole’s Yankees 3-2.
One pitcher finished top five in Cy Young voting for three years straight. The other pitcher needed 13 appearances to record his first Blue Jays win.
Gerrit Cole toed the mound for the New York Yankees, while Ross Stripling took the ball for the Blue Jays. On paper, this doesn’t come across as a typical pitching duel, but, on Wednesday night at Sahlen Field, that’s exactly what happened.
Stripling was phenomenal through six innings, allowing just one hit and striking out seven Yankees. He entered the seventh inning with a one-run lead, but just couldn’t finish things off, as the Blue Jays lost 3-2.
The 31-year-old’s outing was a lot like a Stephen King novel — a slow, methodical, near masterful, build right up until the ending, where things fall a little flat. A two-run pinch hit home run off the bat of Gary Sanchez put a rather harsh stamp on Stripling’s start.
On the other end, Cole pitched like the ace he’s paid to be. Spider Tack or no Spider Tack, Cole was in the zone. His fastball wasn’t spinning as well as it normally does, but he still did his thing, chucking eight innings of two-run baseball.
Two home runs — including a Cavan Biggio bomb that gave Toronto the lead in the fifth inning — were Cole’s only real mistakes on the night. The Blue Jays rallied in the ninth against Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman, but couldn’t put any runs across — no thanks to a missed call on a phantom foul tip that saw the ball scoot to the backstop.
For Stripling, the Sanchez home run spoiled an otherwise excellent night on the mound. He went 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on just three hits, with nine strikeouts and two walks.
Stripling faced adversity in the first inning. An error, a 119 mile-per-hour liner, a walk, then a sac fly led to one unearned run. But since making delivery changes several weeks ago, Stripling has morphed into #NewRoss and, ladies and gentleman, New Ross does not get phased.
Stripling sat down the next 14 batters he faced, mowing them down in methodical fashion. The fastball was his go to — he threw it 55% of the time — but Stripling used all four of his pitches effectively. His slider looked sharp, his looping breaking ball hit its spots and even his change-up was on point — he got Aaron Judge to whiff badly on two straight changeups to start the sixth inning.
For Stripling, it was another chance to reap the rewards of what’s been weeks of mechanical adjustments, including unlearning some bad habits that made him tip pitches. The right-hander had a 7.20 ERA through his first six starts, but rapidly turned things around over his last several starts. His ERA now sits at 4.64.
The seventh inning homer stings, and Stripling might lose some sleep over it, but as the season chugs on, Wednesday’s outing only serves to anchor his spot in this Blue Jays rotation.
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