Marcus Stroman details first inning that put Yankees behind for good against Astros
Marcus Stroman has struggled to get clean innings of late and it was never more apparent than during Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Astros.
The right-hander went 5.2 innings, but it was the three runs he allowed in the first that put the Yankees in a hole they couldn't climb out of, despite their best efforts.
"Definitely a lot of adversity in there," Stroman said after the game. "I wasn't good enough early on. Just kind of put our team in a little bit of a hole. Yeah, just gotta be better. Can't let up three in the first, I don't give my team a chance when I do that."
The first inning of Thursday's game started off well enough for Stroman. He got the first two out with little trouble but gave up a monstrous homer to Yordan Alvarez that went 395 feet. It was just a solo shot, Stroman could still start off strong but then he walked Jeremy Pena on six pitches and allowed a second bomb to an Astros hitter, this time to Jon Singleton that clanked off the face of the third deck, approximately 442 feet.
Stroman puts those home runs on his execution of pitches but said he's made a "little mechanical adjustment" to help with his location.
"Just kind of playing with a few things, but just didn't execute on some of those pitches," he explained. "They capitalized on two pitches that didn't end up doing what I wanted them to do. So, It's baseball."
Stroman acknowledged that he needs to tighten up his pitches, especially on two-strike counts, but that it all comes down to execution at the end of the day. The "process-oriented" Stroman says he's going to go back to the tinkering and will look to be better the next time out.
He does feel like he's locating better than he has in the past few starts. Stroman walked two batters on Thursday after walking five in each of his previous two starts.
Despite the early struggles Thursday, Stroman did give the Yankees some length and gave the offense a chance to come back, they just couldn't string together enough hits to beat the rival Astros on this night.
"Tough first inning there, but battled through, got out of a big jam later," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the game. "Gave a solid effort there and gave us a chance."
Although the Yankees lost, they head to Tampa after a 5-1 homestand.
Stroman is excited for what the team is doing right now, and hopes to contribute his next turn in the rotation.
"Great homestead. I think we're clicking. I think the lineup's clicking on all cylinders one through nine. The bullpen's been incredible. I think the starters have been incredible. Like I said, I just put us in a little bit of hole today but I'm sure we'll get back out there tomorrow against the Rays and continue, hopefully, our winning ways."
