Stroman notches career-high 9 strikeouts on 25th birthday

On Sunday morning, hours before he took the mound at Tropicana Field, Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman acknowledged his birthday with an early tweet imbued with that unbridled positivity he's famous for.

That sentiment in the middle, there? "Honestly, wouldn't change a thing?" Well, his teammates would probably say the same about the stingy, redemptive outing he navigated in the Blue Jays' series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Stroman - facing the Rays for the second time this year - stymied Tampa Bay over eight masterful innings Sunday afternoon, allowing just one run on three hits and a pair of walks while notching a career-high nine strikeouts en route to a 5-1 victory. With his mother and sister looking on, presumably waiting to celebrate their boy's birthday, Stroman wasted as little time as possible, throwing 65 of his 103 pitches for strikes to help Toronto earn a series victory in just two hours, 34 minutes.

Rocking a decidedly festive look - he wore his socks high Sunday for the first time in 2016 - Stroman also helped allay fears of those concerned about his unimpressive strikeout numbers through the first month of the season. Stroman, who entered Sunday's contest with the sixth-lowest swinging-strike rate among qualified starters, induced a season-high 13 whiffs against the Rays, albeit while tying a season-low with just nine ground-ball outs.

So what did Toronto's manager have to say after watching his club's ebullient de facto ace propel a scuffling Blue Jays team to their second win in their last six games? Well, he kept it short and sweet.

"He's a special kid," John Gibbons told reporters.