PITTSBURGH — The possibility of a second Marcus Stroman complete game this season — maybe even a second shutout — tickled the imagination.
That’s how in command the Cubs’ ace was as the sixth inning ended Tuesday in a 4-0 win against the disappearing Pirates. Stroman had retired the last two batters of the fifth on a total of three pitches. Then he got Ke’Bryan Hayes, Jack Suwinski and Carlos Santana on two pitches each in the sixth.
Five outs on nine pitches? Is that even legal?
Stroman was at 66 pitches in all, a sure-fire All-Star and clear Cy Young candidate at the top of his craft. But then the seventh came, and the nature of the battle changed. After a strikeout of Henry Davis, Tucupita Marcano ripped a double to right. Stroman fanned Connor Joe before Ji Hwan Bae outlasted the right-hander for a walk. The confrontation with lefty pinch hitter Cal Mitchell that unfolded next would define Stroman’s night, and though it took a bevy of sinkers and eight pitches in all — in a 29-pitch frame — he finally got Mitchell swinging.
“I’ve always felt I’m someone who makes quality pitches when I need to,” Stroman said. “I’m always able to locate, really dig down in big-time moments, so I’m not scared of the big inning. I always attack guys. I pitch off my sinker, and everybody knows that — the entire league knows that — and there’s nobody in the league that I won’t throw my sinker to.”
That’s seven wins in a row for Stroman (9-4) — the longest winning streak in his career — which only begins to tell the tale. His 1.29 ERA during the stretch makes one wonder if the 32-year-old ever has been better. No doubt, the Cubs (35-38), who moved ahead of the Pirates (34-38) by half a game and into third place in the National League Central, would be in massive trouble without him.
“I’m not a number-looker,” Stroman said. “I’m very present. Tomorrow, I’ll be working on the next start — body, mind, everything.”
The Cubs have won nine of their last 11 games and clinched their fourth winning series in a row. They are 5-0 against the Pirates, who are in an eight-game slide against all teams and have been on the losing end of eight straight season series against the Cubs. The teams have seven more games against each other this season, including four at PNC Park in late August, by which point the Cubs might be well into a drive for a division title.
The same can’t be said anymore about the Pirates, who were mighty exciting for a couple of months but have reverted to seeming irrelevance. They’ve given up 40 runs to the Cubs, who’ve toyed with them.
In this matchup — the second against Stroman in less than a week — it wasn’t really a fair fight. Especially when Stroman added to the defense with slick plays of his own, which he did twice on sharply hit one-hoppers to his left.
“Probably the MVP of our group so far,” manager David Ross said. “He’s just a very important player.”
Is it a bad thing to say Stroman knows it?
“I’m someone who truly pitches off confidence purely,” he said. “I don’t like to be negated with anything negative in my mind at all when facing any lineup.”
The Cubs send Kyle Hendricks — who had an eight-game win streak of his own in 2021 — to the mound Wednesday, looking for a sweep. Ross is confident when it comes to Hendricks. Maybe a bit more so when it comes to Stroman.
“You feel like it’s win day” when Stroman pitches, Ross said.
No doubt about that.
