ATLANTA – With their bullpen already taxed just two games into the second half, the Yankees desperately needed Marcus Stroman to provide some length on Sunday.
The right-hander — not exactly an ideal choice for the task — delivered, spinning his best and longest start of the season in the Bombers’ 4-2 win over the Braves. The victory secured a series win after the Yanks dropped Friday’s second-half opener at Truist Park and completed a chaotic comeback on Saturday.
Stroman demonstrated strong command throughout the afternoon, refusing to issue a free pass while completing six innings of work. Both were season-firsts for the veteran, who also struck out four while allowing one hit and one earned run.
Stroman’s 95 pitches were a season-high.
The Braves were scoreless against Stroman until the sixth, as Matt Olson obliterated a solo home run that landed on the roof of Truist Park’s Chop House in right field. Still, Stroman finished the inning and spared the Yankees’ pen from having to record a few extra outs.
The Braves also threatened Stroman in the third, as Michael Harris II led the inning off with a single before Nick Allen achieved the same result with a bunt. However, Jurickson Profar tried a bunt of his own, which led to Jorbit Vivas making a diving catch in foul territory for the first out.
The play — and Profar’s head-scratching decision — changed the entire inning for Atlanta, as Olson grounded a comebacker to Stroman, starting a double play.
Stroman, who spent time on the injured list with left knee inflammation earlier this season, has now completed five innings in all four of his starts since being activated on June 29. While his knee still requires maintenance, he’s surrendered seven earned runs over that stretch, a drastic improvement from the results he recorded prior to his IL stint.
Stroman, who was subjected to trade rumors all offseason and entered spring training sixth on the Yankees’ rotation depth chart, had an 11.57 ERA over his first three starts of the season, a span that included just 9.1 innings.
Lately, however, he’s looked like a completely different pitcher for a rotation that has been without Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt and Ryan Yarbrough.
While Stroman continued to put his early-season struggles behind him on Sunday, the Yankees gave him an early lead with a two-run first.
Aaron Judge started the scoring with his 36th home run of the year, while Paul Goldschmidt knocked an RBI single off Braves starter Grant Holmes a few batters later. Judge’s blast, an opposite field shot, gave him 351 longballs for his career, tying him with Alex Rodriguez for sixth place on the Yankees’ all-time home run list.
The Yankees scored a third run in the sixth when Vivas took a hit-by-pitch to his knee with the bases loaded, while Chisholm added an insurance run with an RBI double in the seventh following Olson’s home run. That came in handy, as Ronald Acuña Jr. led the ninth off by taking Devin Williams deep.
With the Yankees able to escape Atlanta with a series win, they will now look for redemption in Toronto.
The Blue Jays swept them over four games the last time they visited Canada. That series, which took place between June 30 and July 3, saw the Jays overtake the Yankees for first place in the American League East. Toronto hasn’t relinquished that lead since.
Toronto (58-41) swept the Giants over the weekend and holds a three-game lead over the Yankees (55-44) in the division.
With the second-place Yankees trying to gain some ground, Carlos Rodón is scheduled to start the opener against Kevin Gausman. The plan is for Cam Schlittler to make his second major league start on Tuesday after he experienced bicep soreness over the break, while Max Fried is lined up for the finale. Fried, troubled by a blister before the All-Star break, threw a bullpen session on Sunday that went well.
Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt are scheduled to start the last two games for Toronto.
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