Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Marco Estrada held the Arizona Diamondbacks to two hits over six innings in Tuesday's 4-2 loss, becoming the first pitcher in MLB history to record 11 consecutive starts with six or more innings pitched and five or fewer hits allowed, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.
Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, the Diamondbacks still managed to score three runs (all earned) off of Estrada, who struck out eight batters and allowed three walks.
Diamondbacks catcher Chris Herrmann had an RBI single in the third inning, and outfielder Yasmany Tomas added a two-run homer in the fourth.
Estrada thus saw his record drop to 5-3 despite setting a rather obscure MLB record.
The Blue Jays won each of his previous six starts but have won only seven of the 11 games during the ongoing streak.
Even with the modest record, Estrada could emerge as somewhat of a dark-horse Cy Young candidate, boasting a 2.70 ERA and 0.97 WHIP with 84 strikeouts and 37 walks through 93.1 innings (14 starts).
Granted, it's a real long shot, as Estrada has never posted a sub-3.00 ERA in his career, often struggling with the long ball due to his fly-ball tendencies as a pitcher.
For the time being, the Blue Jays are just happy to have a de facto ace, as Marcus Stroman (5.23 ERA) and R.A. Dickey (4.08 ERA) have both been inconsistent.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments