No five-alarm fire in The Bronx. The Bronx isn’t burning.
But manager Aaron Boone is looking for volunteers to extinguish the possibility of the first four-game losing streak of the season, and Marcus Stroman hosed down any embers of billowing hysteria among Yankees fans with an 8-3 win over the Braves.
Stroman gave up Marcell Ozuna’s first homer, then held the Braves scoreless after Austin Riley’s second-inning single until Travis d’Arnaud hit an opposite-field two-run home run with two outs in the seventh. Stroman raised his glove and waved to the cheering fans as he walked from the mound to the barn.
Stro Show shows in the best time.
Stroman rode the momentum that Aaron Judge’s two-run home run in the first against and never looked back.
If he had, he would have seen Hakim marveling in center field at the Stro Show.
“Just a competitor who wants to go out and win,” Hakim told The Post before the match. “He’s not afraid of anybody. It doesn’t matter who he’s facing, we’re on the road, we’re at home, if the offense clicks, it doesn’t click, he goes out and does something.
“I think one of the things that’s amazing is that he’s not surprised by the noise outside. Playing here in New York, you can hear a lot of things from the fans, maybe if the offense doesn’t pick you and give you support, you can be frustrated about this, but this guy shows up every day and does his thing. And he’s having fun, which is what I love and I think the whole team benefits from it.
Judge respected Stroman (7-3, 3.15 ERA) as an opponent and now as a friend.
“Every day, he is in the gym,” said Hakim, “which is very good to see the pitcher every five days. They can, kind of, sit on their ass and relax, but this guy continues to improve, continues to work in the chapter. I always seeing him talk to a lot of young people, I think the connection he and (Clarke) Schmidt has started in the offseason going into the season is big-time. … It’s been fun to watch, and (I’m) glad he’s with us.
Stroman, needless to say, is glad that Judge (28 homers) is back.
“He’s on a historic run,” Stroman said.
Yankees pitchers have given up 32 runs over the previous three games.
“I felt pretty in control from the start,” said Stroman. “Even after the homer, I felt good. I knew I didn’t make the pitches I wanted, so I wasn’t mad, but I felt good all night. I felt calm. I had a lot of confidence in Wellsy (Austin Wells) behind the plate, so I didn’t shake him all night.
Stroman grew up on Long Island and always yearned for the big, bright Bronx stage.
“I’m not a person who shies away from the limelight or pressure, lights,” said Stroman when he entered the offseason. “I think a lot of people don’t come to New York and play for the Yankees for that reason. I think I can give the best in me.”
The best is better than the best of the Braves.
“Just the difference between the dinner, the cutter, the mix with the change, I think it’s unbalanced,” Stroman said.
Boone is holding out for undetermined loss of Giancarlo Stanton (MRI exam delayed due to left hamstring soreness). But because of Stroman, he left office unfazed by a four-game losing streak.
“Really took control of the game,” Boone said. “It takes the ball where he wants, hits the attack zone, I thought he had presence with everything, and I think all this kind of work for him too,” Boone said. “It’s good to get just a good outing after just a bit of a tough week for us,” Boone said. “It’s been big.”
Stroman is not big. Stroman is 5-foot-8, 180 pounds. On Saturday night, he offered yet another reminder of his mantra: Height Does Not Measure Hearts.
