Stro Show: Stroman dominant with one-hitter in win against Rays
David Banks - USA Today Sports

Stro Show: Stroman dominant with one-hitter in win against Rays


by - Senior Writer -

CHICAGO - Sometimes, all it takes for a team to get back on track is an ace-caliber performance against a great team. That is exactly what the fans at Wrigley Field witnessed on Memorial Day as the Chicago Cubs (23-30) took the NL Worst record and hosted the best team in the MLB, the Tampa Bay Rays (39-17). Although the Cubs have struggled on this homestand, there is still a slim chance they can finish with a winning record, but things will be challenging the next two days.

Although the Rays have the best record in the league, and for the most part, it isn't even close, they have been only slightly above .500 on the road, so they are vulnerable away from the Trop. If the Cubs did want to steal a game and put themselves in a position to take this series, Monday was their best opportunity as the Cubs turned to their Ace, Marcus Stroman, against the Rays top pitching prospect Taj Bradley.

Stroman had some tough luck losses to begin the month of May, but he has been dialed in as of late. Monday, saw the right-hander deliver his best start of the season and the best start of his Chicago Cubs career. You could argue that it was one of his best starts ever, as Stroman not only went the distance but held the Rays to just one hit in the game and needed just 105 pitches to get through nine innings. With that, he walked one and struck out eight as the Cubs needed just a Mike Tauchman sacrifice fly to beat the Rays 1-0.

From the moment Stroman through his first pitch, you could see how dialed in he was as five of the first six outs were ground ball outs, with one going to each base. The other was a comebacker up the middle to himself which he fielded cleanly to end the inning. Even with Stroman doing his thing, Bradley was equally as good despite his pitch count not being the same caliber as Stroman's.

Bradley matched Stroman when it came to one walk and eight strikeouts, but he lasted just 5 2/3 innings allowing one unearned run on just three hits as the offense was at a premium all game long. While Stroman may not have allowed a baserunner early, Bradley did have some traffic to deal with as Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson picked up singles in the first two frames, with Matt Mervis also taking a second-inning walk.

The first baserunner of the game for Tampa came in the third when Stroman hit Luke Raley to start things off but silenced the Rays offense from there. With the score still tied 0-0 in the fourth, the Cubs used an old-school baseball approach to push across the games only run, which very few thought would hold up. Seiya Suzuki started the inning with a hustling infield single and advanced to second on a rare throwing error by Taylor Walls.

That error proved to be crucial as a deep flyout by Swanson to center moved Suzuki to third, which was followed by another fly ball from Tauchman which was also deep enough to advance Suzuki 90 feet as his sacrifice fly gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead. From there, their offense went silent as Bradley and the Rays pen held the Cubs hitless the rest of the way and did what they needed to keep things close.

Knowing that, Stroman continued to do his thing on the mound as he held the Rays hitless through six innings and had them scratching their head for answers. Then came the top of the seventh when Wander Franco ended the no-hit bid with a single to Ian Happ in left. That single was followed by Brandon Lowe's walk with Stroman facing adversity for the first time in the game.

This was the turning point of the ball game for the Cubs, as Stroman not only got Randy Arozarena to fly out but followed that up with an inning-ending double play to escape trouble and keep the Cubs in front. Stroman continued to impose his will across the final two frames as he didn't allow a baserunner the rest of the way and finished off the Rays for the one-hit shutout 1-0.

Knowing the track record of the Cubs bullpen in close games, give David Ross some credit for sticking with Stroman, as he felt that was the right move to make. Anytime you can silence an offense like Tampa and need only 105 pitches to get through nine, you are dialed in, as Stroman's ERA fell to 2.59 with the win and improved to 5-4 on the season. The Cubs will be back on the diamond tomorrow night when Kyle Hendricks faces off against Shane McClanahan.

McClanahan has been one of the best pitchers in the game since last season and is a ridiculous 8-0 to start the season with a sub-1.9 ERA. On a sour note, it was noted during the broadcast that Cody Bellinger's knee injury is worse than anticipated, and the Cubs expect him out another 2-3 weeks.

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