Jack of all trades Stripling spotless in finale

DETROIT -- If tasked to assemble a versatile crew of guys who can huddle up to tackle any mission -- picture a good-natured Ocean’s 11 -- Ross Stripling is the guy you’d most certainly lean on to give you a little bit of everything.

Situational relief? Check.

Rotation? Check.

Bulk relief? Check.

Spot start? Check.

This is no secret. Quite the opposite actually, as that flexibility is what Stripling has built his career around. What’s attracting more and more attention these days, though, is just how good the Blue Jays’ pitcher is at each task, and how quickly he can shift among them.

Sunday’s 6-0 win against the Tigers in the series finale at Comerica Park marked the righty’s second start since May 7, but you wouldn’t know that by his latest effort and the season-best results it produced. Stripling allowed just one hit in Detroit across six frames, fanned four, walked none and ran his streak of consecutive scoreless innings to 13 2/3 along the way.

“He's been great, man,” manager Charlie Montoyo said. “He's giving us a chance every time he takes the mound. … When somebody's not overpowering, and they have to pitch, that's fun to watch, and he's been fun to watch.”

Two straight starts with just one hit allowed in each is quite a feat for any pitcher, let alone one who’s had to adjust routines and responsibilities more than a few times along the way. The lone knock Stripling allowed Sunday was a Robbie Grossman single to open the third inning, and he responded by coaxing a double-play grounder from the next batter to instantly end the threat.

He has faced just one over the minimum in his past two starts combined.

“It’s certainly not going to always be as simple or as easy as the last two, right?” Stripling said. “It’s usually much tougher as you navigate through lineups and through baserunners.

“It’s really just … throwing any pitch in any count, keeping them off-balance, but also filling up the zone and wanting them to hit it, and then trusting the defense behind us.”

When called upon, Stripling is no slouch out of the bullpen, either, posting a 1-0 record and a 4.09 ERA in eight relief appearances for the Blue Jays this season against a 2-1 record and a 2.81 ERA in the rotation. Stripling began the year with a pair of relief outings before shifting roles during a five-start stretch. He headed to the ’pen for six appearances, then resumed his starting gig with the recent injury to Hyun Jin Ryu.

The Blue Jays expect Ryu, who went on the IL June 2, to miss several weeks, so Stripling’s success becomes that much more crucial to Toronto as it battles to keep the division-leading Yankees within sniffing distance in the powerhouse AL East.

Sure, it’s still early in the season, but guys like Stripling often figure to be important pieces to the puzzle in the stretch run, and if he can hone his craft even further now, who knows what September will bring?

“I’d like to think you’re never too high or too low,” Stripling said. “… I’m not all of a sudden thinking I’m in the hunt for the Cy Young or anything like that. You just try and stay even-keeled, which I think is a strength of mine that I’ve been able to maintain over my career -- never too high or too low -- and just trust my stuff.”

Montoyo wasn’t quite ready to say Stripling has cemented his place in the 2022 rotation, but as far as what Stripling’s recent showings mean for his immediate future?

“It means he’s going to keep starting,” Montoyo said with a laugh. “He’s doing great. He’s stepping out right there and giving us a chance to win. … Right now, he’s been key.”

As Stripling cruised through innings 1-3 on Sunday with just the Grossman strike against him, his teammates encouraged him to continue to be aggressive by taking a 4-0 lead. The Blue Jays batted around in the fourth, using a single, three doubles and a two-run homer from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., his 14th long ball of the season.

Bolstered by the lead, Stripling neatly disposed of the Tigers in order with an 11-pitch fourth, a 10-pitch fifth and a 13-pitch sixth.

The Blue Jays, who are 13-4 in their past 17 games, improved to 12-5-2 in series play. They’ll head home next, where they are 18-10 this season.