Stroman pitches another gem as Cubs blank Rangers
Kamil Krzaczynski - USA Today Sports

Stroman pitches another gem as Cubs blank Rangers
by - Senior Writer - Fri Apr 07 19:03:09 GMT-04:00 2023

CHICAGO - If there was ever a question as to whether or not Marcus Stroman could be the ace of this Chicago Cubs (3-3) staff, he has safely answered those questions. Going back to his final 10 starts in 2022 and now his first two of 2023, Stroman has pitched to a 2.57 ERA and is starting to look like the guy the Cubs gave 71 million dollars to.

Coming off an opening day start where Stroman went six shutout innings against the Milwaukee Brewers, the righty was back on the Wrigley Field mound on Friday as the Cubs welcomed in the Texas Rangers (4-3). Looking to deliver another strong outing, Stroman more than answered the call as he again gave the Cubs six shutout innings. That is now 12 consecutive scoreless innings to begin his season, as the Cubs needed just two runs to knock off the Rangers 2-0.

Stroman has not only given the Cubs length, but he has limited the overall contact and held Texas to two hits. That is five hits allowed in two starts, but he did walk three batters for the second consecutive start. That might be the only negative to say about him right now, as he has been brilliant.

Opposing Stroman was the hard-throwing right-hander Nathan Eovaldi who signed with the Rangers as a free agent this offseason Eovaldi managed to match Stroman pitch for pitch most of his start, but couldn't make it through the sixth after being charged with two earned runs.

Not only did you have two outstanding pitchers on the mound, but with a strong wind blowing in off the lake, everyone knew this would be a low-scoring affair. Texas knew that would be the case and kept the pressure on Stroman in the first, with Corey Seager picking up a one-out walk ahead of the Nathaniel Lowe single. Stroman wiggled his way out of trouble, as that was the most trouble he was in for quite some time.

Despite Stroman settling down and dominating the next three innings, Eovaldi was even better as he retired the first six hitters he faced and faced the minimum through three innings. In the fourth, the Cubs finally managed to break through as Nico Hoerner started things off with a single. Hoerner would later be erased on the Dansby Swanson fielders choice, while a strike out to Ian Happ had the Cubs on the verge of not scoring.

Standing at second after stealing a base, Swanson came around to give the Cubs the 1-0 lead as Cody Bellinger cashed in with an RBI single. Little did they know that this hit was the game-winner, as that would be all the offense the Cubs would need. That score would hold until the sixth, when Texas had their best scoring chance of the day against Stroman.

For Texas to have a shot at winning this game, they knew now would be the time to get to him, and after a hit-by-pitch to Josh Smith followed by a Seager walk, the Rangers were in a great spot to tie things up. With two down in the inning, Adolis Garcia took the third and final walk allowed by Stroman to load the bases, only to see the Cubs right-hander get Josh Jung to ground out, ending what could have been a big inning.

That was the momentum swing the Cubs needed as Tucker Barnhardt, and Hoerner started the bottom of the sixth with singles before a costly double play put the Cubs on the verge of not scoring. Leave it to Ian Happ to come through as he connected for an RBI double to put the Cubs in front 2-0.

Although two runs isn't a lot, it was nice to see them pick up a pair of two-out hits to bring home runs.

Now up to the bullpen to hold down the fort, Mark Leiter Jr was called on to pitch the seventh and retired the Rangers in order. Chicago did their best to respond off of Cole Ragens in the bottom half of the seventh, using a two-out walk from Eric Hosmer and the Miles Mastrobuoni to put the offense in business, but nothing more came from it.

Looking to finish the game off, Michael Fulmer entered the game in the eighth inning for what would be a six-out save. Sure, he allowed a two-out double to Seager in the eighth, but that was it as he struck out the side in the eighth to keep the Cubs in front by a pair. He then came back out for the ninth, where he sent the Rangers down in order to record the six-out save and gave the Cubs a 2-0 win.

The Cubs had six hits in the game, with Hoerner leading the way with two. Chicago struck out 11 Rangers on the afternoon as Stroman accounted for six of those and Fulmer added four. These teams will be back on the diamond Saturday when Martin Perez and Justin Steele square off.

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