It is the Stro Show for Opening Day

Two weeks before camp breaks, the Blue Jays have announced their pitching plans for opening day against the Detroit Tigers.
And sure enough, it will be Stro Time.
Indeed, all the work paid off for Marcus Stroman to achieve his first goal of the 2019 season. The two-a-day workouts, the yoga, the mobility drills, the time spent in his own personal hyperbaric chamber, the visit with Duke basketball coaching legend Mike Krzyzewski … it all helped get his body and mind right the for spring training.
The rest followed naturally.


Prior to his fourth straight strong outing, Stroman was named the Blue Jays opening day pitcher for the second time in his career.The first was in 2016, when he threw eight innings en route to a 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.
This one will be at home, Mar. 28. This one is something he wanted very badly.
“It’s an honour,” Stroman said after giving up one run and two hits while striking out six over 4.1 innings against the Orioles in Sarasota on Wednesday. “Something you strive for. Something that I always kind of pride myself on. I’m just excited to feel the electricity, the energy of Toronto, of Canada, when I get out there on the mound.
“I’ve pitched in some pretty big moments before,” he added. “I’m not shy of the moment. I think I thrive off energy and emotion, so I’m excited. I can’t wait to be out there.”
Stroman, who will become the 10th pitcher to draw multiple opening day assignments for the franchise, has anxiously awaited a chance to get his career back on track.
Last year, shoulder and blister problems kept him to just 102 innings, or half of what he pitched the previous two seasons.
He also went 4-9 with a 5.54 ERA — numbers he’s in a hurry to forget.
“I’m ready to pitch,” said Stroman, “regardless of where I am in the rotation. Like I said, I put a huge emphasis on getting back to where I was, and I’m there. So regardless of when you give me the ball, I’m going to go out there and have that mentality to dominate.”
The decision between Stroman and Aaron Sanchez was not an easy one for manager Charlie Montoyo, pitching coach Pete Walker and GM Ross Atkins.
“Stroman is the right guy,” Montoyo said when making it official.
Said Walker: “Every time you’ve got two guys like Sanchez and Stroman, obviously when they’re healthy, as far as I’m concerned, they’re as good as there is out there. I think Sanchey might have been a click behind early in camp, and gave him the extra live BP. That’s about the main reason.
“But they’re both certainly capable of doing that and holding on to that top spot in the rotation. Once the season starts it doesn’t matter.”
Montoyo said he talked to Sanchez about the decision before it was announced.
“Whatever I do, I always think as a player,” said Montoyo. “So that’s why we talked to Sanchez, to make sure he knows we were going to give it to Stroman. He’s fine.
“I did talk to people before. It’s almost like when I was in triple-A and I’d tell you you’re going up to the big leagues, and then I’ve got to talk to somebody else who’s not very happy (it wasn’t him being promoted) that he didn’t get the shot. It’s the same way here. You’ve got to communicate.”
Saying Clay Buchholz will not be ready to start the season, Montoyo has pencilled in a rotation that, after Stroman, has Matt Shoemaker second, followed by Sanchez, Ryan Borucki and Clayton Richard.
“I like the fact of splitting Stroman and Sanchez, because they’re kind of the same type of pitchers … sinker-ballers and stuff,” said Montoyo. “So I want to have somebody in between that’s different, and Shoemaker’s the guy that can do that.”