Perhaps the biggest surprise this season for the Los Angeles Dodgers has been the emergence of Ross Stripling in the starting rotation. This, after he began the year in the bullpen, much like Alex Wood in 2017.
With Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Kenta Maeda and Hyun-Jin Ryu all spending time on the disabled list, Stripling was forced into a starting role and has made the most of his opportunity.
Stripling had another strong outing on Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates, tossing five shutout innings while giving up just four hits and no walks while striking out seven in the 5-0 victory.
A lot of Stripling’s success has been attributed to his breaking ball, which hitters have yet to figure out this season. He decided to go with a different gameplan against Pittsburgh, however, throwing more fastballs, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“If anything, I maybe got away from the curveball today which I’ve been throwing so much,” Stripling said, attributing the change in his plan of attack to the scouting report on the Pirates’ hitters. “I threw more heaters. Just kind of trying to stay … where they can’t figure me out. Keep them on their toes.”
Stripling has not yet accumulated enough innings to qualify for the ERA title, but out of all pitchers who have thrown at least 50 innings, he ranks third behind only Justin Verlander and Jacob deGrom with a 1.52 ERA on the season to go along with a 1.99 FIP and 1.11 WHIP. He owns a 4-1 record in 18 games (seven starts) while striking out 66 compared to just 11 walks in 53.1 innings.
If he continues to pitch at this elite level, then Stripling could find himself in Washington later this summer for the All-Star Game, which would be the first of his young career.
As part of our efforts to help you understand how we handle the personal information you share with us, and in preparation for the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we’ve updated our Privacy & Cookies Policy. The updated Privacy & Cookies Policy will take effect on May 22, 2018. By using our services on or after that date, you’ll be agreeing to our updated Privacy & Cookies Policy. We recommend that you read our updated Privacy & Cookies Policy in full.
