Marcus Stroman makes case to stay in Yankees rotation with strong return

Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.For most of the year, Marcus Stroman’s spot in the rotation has been in flux.

It started in spring training.It continued when he landed on the injured list with left knee inflammation following three starts.

Shaky rehab starts didn’t help. But in his return from a lengthy absence Sunday, Stroman made a case to factor into the Yankees’ rotation plans moving forward, tossing five efficient innings during which he allowed just three hits and one homer and needed just 74 pitches.Even as the injury lingered, with the discomfort stemming from an ACL tear and surgery back in 2015, Stroman never wavered in his thinking about whether he could return to the level of pitching that helped the Yankees defeat the A’s 12-5 to close their series in The Bronx. “I tore my ACL and made it back in five months,” Stroman said, “so I don’t do doubt.So I knew I’d be back at some point, it was just a matter of when.” He encountered a brief scare early in his outing when Max Muncy’s comebacker drilled him in the hamstring with one out in the second.

It “crushed” him, Stroman said.“Pretty firm,” he added, while acknowledging that he’ll almost certainly feel something Monday.

But after a visit from manager Aaron Boone and a trainer — and one warmup pitch to catcher Ben Rice — Stroman never considered exiting. “Adrenaline is a great drug,” Stroman said. Boone acknowledged pregame that Stroman wasn’t built all the way up, and the 34-year-old had collected a 6.97 ERA across three rehab starts with Double-A Somerset.A smooth return to the majors was far from guaranteed.

But Stroman didn’t surrender an extra-base hit until A’s catcher Willie MacIver homered in the fifth, and Jazz Chisholm Jr.helped him escape a jam in the third by starting a nifty double play.

Stroman also used a pitch mix — with his ...