When Marcus Stroman left the field after getting just two outs in Friday’s 9-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants, the veteran right-hander told the team his knee was bothering him, and it has led to an IL stint.
The Yankees announced that they put the 33-year-old on the IL with left knee inflammation, hours before their game on Saturday. In a corresponding move, the Yankees have called up RHP Allan Winans.
Once Stroman left the dugout, he had an X-ray done at Yankee Stadium before heading to a hospital for further tests. Manager Aaron Boone said before Saturday’s game that he hadn’t spoken to his starter yet, but once he arrived to the stadium, the team doctors would update them on Stroman’s condition.
Friday night’s game was not easy to play in. The rain and high winds affected fly balls and clearly affected the pitchers. Stroman couldn’t get out of the first and some of the Yankees relievers — like Yoendrys Gomez — had trouble gripping the ball.
It led to Boone discussing the weather with the umpires and grounds crew between innings before the game was delayed in the sixth and ultimately called.
The question of whether the weather affected Stroman’s ability to pitch on Friday was brought up, and the Yankees skipper couldn’t give a definitive answer.
“We haven’t been in ideal conditions most of the start of the season here. And that affects everyone a little bit different,” Boone said before Saturday’s game. “But Stro’s also been doing this a long time and pitched in these situations a lot before. I’m sure that all plays a role, even we saw on the other side. Even though we only got one run last night, it was a grind for [Giants starter] Robbie Ray.
“It’s just one of those rare games where, you know, it’s a challenge and we saw that on the pitching front last night.”
In three starts this season, Stroman has struggled. He’s 0-1 with a 11.57 ERA and a 2.04 WHIP, and allowed nine runs in his last two outings while only pitching 4.2 innings.
Now that Stroman is on the IL, a returning Clarke Schmidt will take his spot in the rotation for the time being. That gives Will Warren and veteran Carlos Carrasco more chances to prove they belong in the rotation when Stroman eventually returns.
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