Needy Yankees get Marcus Stroman’s best and longest start of 2025 in win over Braves

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.

“He was on today,” Aaron Judge said of Stroman, “and that was fun to watch.”

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.

“He continued to do a really good job of mixing and matching and staying unpredictable, using all his pitches, using both sides of the plate,” Aaron Boone said.

The manager also said that Ben Rice, catching Stroman for the second time this season, did a nice job calling the game. Stroman agreed, saying Rice did was “awesome” behind the plate.

“He’s caught me a lot in bullpens and live BPs throughout spring training and throughout the year,” Stroman continued. “So I’ve always felt very confident throwing to him, and I feel like we have a good rapport now, and it just keeps building. So he’s been incredible back there.”

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.

Afterward, Boone said that he was staying away from Jonathan Loáisiga, Luke Weaver and, in a perfect world, JT Brubaker and Scott Effross. Stroman, aware of this, said there was an “emphasis” on providing length, but he added “that’s always the goal.”

“That’s always in the back of my mind. I always want to go six, seven innings,” he said. “That’s kind of how I came up.”

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.

“Vivas laid out Superman style for that one,” Boone said. “He covered a lot of ground to get to that.”

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 just 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.

At the time, it was fair to wonder if Stroman had anything left to offer at the big league level. 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.

“I’m so detached from what everyone’s thinking, to be honest with you,” Stroman, a two-time All-Star, said of the noise. “I don’t see it. I don’t hear it. It’s very non-existent to me, to be honest with you. I’m in my own world when it comes to preparing, so I’m not concerned about that at all.

“I always have a chip on my shoulder. That’s how I was born. That’s how I was raised; my dad raised me like that. That’s always gonna be there. But as far as caring what people are thinking or saying, I’m far from that these days.”

Boone, meanwhile, said that Stroman has been “pitching like there’s a lot on the line, and there is.”

“He’s probably been counted out by a lot of people, and I’m sure he’s felt that way a lot throughout his career,” Boone said. “He’s always kind of had that edge to him, but since inserting back, that’s four starts where he’s given us a really good chance to win ballgames, and that’s all you can ask.”

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.

Judge started the scoring with his 36^th 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.

“Just an incredible honor, especially growing up watching A-Rod for so many years and watching him do what he did with pinstripes,” Judge said. “He’s a legend, one of the best to ever play.”

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 off without a hitch.

Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt are scheduled to start the last two games for Toronto.

“Hopefully we can go have a better result this time around,” Boone said.

Originally Published: July 20, 2025 at 4:09 PM EDT