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Blue Jays' Stripling: Moving to 3 different cities in a season 'is crazy'

Kevin Hoffman / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Toronto Blue Jays are getting ready to move back to Canada for a July 30 homestand after having temporary homes in two different cities in the United States, and Ross Stripling isn't thrilled about how taxing the year has been.

"Making three moves in a season is crazy, especially any of us that have families, or anyone in general," Stripling said Monday, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. "We don't expect people to blow sunshine up our bums about it. ... We don't need people giving us the benefit of the doubt.

"We accepted that's what it is. We're playing good baseball and now we're going home and expect to play even better baseball there. But it's been very difficult and very challenging. It's something nobody else has had to go through."

Stripling acknowledged the mental toll weighed on him during a poor start against the Boston Red Sox. He gave up six earned runs on four hits and recorded just one out Monday.

"(I was) in a weird mental space," the right-hander said. "On Wednesday, I'm going to have to say bye to my family for two months, which is actually weighing on me much harder than I want it to be."

The Blue Jays will return to Toronto after last playing at the Rogers Centre in September 2019 due to pandemic restrictions and a border closure between Canada and the U.S. The club was forced to play home games in Buffalo and Dunedin, Florida, during the shortened 2020 season and the first four months of the 2021 campaign.

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