CHICAGO — When Marcus Stroman strolled out to the Chicago Cubs bullpen 40 minutes before Sunday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers, he raised his arms over his head and exhorted fans to start cheering early.
It was a perfect opening for the anticipated debut of the “Stro Show,” the nickname given to the veteran starter whom the Cubs signed to a three-year, $71 million deal on the eve of the lockout.
Not since towel-waving reliever Dick Selma in 1969 has a Cubs pitcher taken it upon himself to get the fans revved up into a party atmospshere.
“I’ve been like this, my man, since forever,” Stroman said. “I love energy. I’m not your typical baseball player who is going to be a robot out there. I appreciate the people and I’m going to let them know I appreciate them.
“I’ve always been like that. I love to feel that from the crowd. You can feel that buzz, that energy, the second you go out there, and I’m someone who pitches off that. I’m excited to be a Cub and I can’t wait to have that each and every time out.”
Stroman did his job in his first outing at Wrigley Field, allowing one run on two hits over five innings and leaving with a two-run lead. But the bullpen coughed it up in a 5-4 loss to the Brewers, who avoided a sweep and finally showed why they’re the consensus favorites in the National League Central.
Brewers pitchers struck out 13 Cubs and allowed four hits, only one after the second inning. All in all, the Cubs had to be satisfied with winning the series and getting big performances from their two key free agents, Stroman and Seiya Suzuki, who hit his first major-league home run Sunday and finished the series with a .375 average and six RBIs.
The three Cubs starters — Kyle Hendricks, Justin Steele and Stroman — combined for a 1.19 ERA with 15 strikeouts and 11 hits allowed in 15⅓ innings, a good omen for a team that doesn’t figure to score a lot of runs this year.
But Sunday belonged to Stroman, who had to wait through two games and a rainout to make his Cubs debut.
“I didn’t want to push him back all the way to Game 3,” manager David Ross said beforehand. “There were talks of this guy maybe being our opening-day starter from my perspective. ... I hope fans are excited. I’m dang sure excited to watch him compete and go about his business. I thought it was a nice signing for us.”
Suzuki’s first home run — a three-run, 412-foot blast into the left-field bleachers in the first — gave Stroman some early breathing room. The Japanese star and third base coach Willie Harris bowed to each other as Suzuki rounded third, a gesture Suzuki said was Harris’ idea.
“I’ve never done it in Japan,” he said. “But I was talking to my third base coach, Willie Harris, and he said it was kind of boring rounding third with no performance. It just felt like something we wanted to do.”
Sammy Sosa was the last Cubs slugger to bow after home runs, which he did during a few Cactus League games in 1999, saying it was a tribute to Japan, which he had toured in the offseason. But the Cubs asked Sosa to stop the bowing after Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Todd Stottlemyre complained that Sosa was showboating.
That was a different era, however, and Cubs fans seemed to enjoy Suzuki’s bow. He said he’s “still thinking” about whether to make it a new tradition after home runs.
Stroman also may have started a new tradition, coming out to pitch with a white durag under his blue Cubs cap. He said he was growing out his dreads and has other colored durags he might wear this year.
Stroman said he “had chills” walking out to the mound and that having a tight bond with the fan base was “something I’ve wanted my entire career.” His only blemish occurred in the third, a solo home run by Willy Adames on a 3-2 sinker, and he said he felt strong enough to go longer than five.
But Ross lifted him after 88 pitches as, like most managers this April, he has his starters on a strict pitch count due to the shortened spring training.
“I have a lot of respect for that man, so I’ll never challenge him,” Stroman said of Ross’ decision. “It’s a journey. It’s a process. We want to be healthy and playing playoff baseball in August, September and all the way into October, so Rossy has to be the one to adjust for health and make sure we don’t do too much.”
Ross compared Stroman’s preparation and work ethic to those of Jon Lester, whose signing in 2015 turned into a franchise-changing moment for the Cubs.
“When you first get around Jon and see him, they come in to work and it’s work first and then ‘I’m going to be kind of a teammate,’” Ross said. “This guy comes in, gets his work done and he’s diligent about what he wants to do — his preparation. What stands out is his routine so far.”
Reliever Jesse Chavez served up a two-run home run to Rowdy Tellez in a three-run sixth, blowing the lead and denying Stroman a chance at the win. The Cubs received a gift in the bottom of the sixth when a two-out walk, an error and two wild pitches by Jake Cousins brought home the tying run without a hit. But the Brewers regained the lead on Mike Brosseau’s pinch-hit home run off Daniel Norris in the seventh.
It looked for a second like the Cubs tied it again in the seventh when Jonathan Villar tried to beat out a slow roller to short with two outs and a runner on third. Adames made a nice pickup and barely nailed Villar, who attempted a headfirst slide. After a long replay review, the call was confirmed.
“One hundred percent I thought I was safe,” Villar said. “But that’s baseball.”
The Cubs had no chance against Devin Williams and closer Josh Hader. Suzuki was called out on strikes without taking the bat off his shoulder against Williams in the eighth, and Hader struck out two in a perfect ninth.
After a day off Monday, the Cubs begin a trip to Pittsburgh and Colorado, where they’ll face former Cubs star Kris Bryant. Stroman already is looking ahead to his next start at Wrigley, a place he believes has a home-field advantage like no other ballpark.
“That’s super rare in baseball,” he said. “I don’t know if you guys know that or you guys are spoiled with this crowd. I’m excited for each and every game.”
