Stroman is hot in the cold - 12 scoreless innings in 2 outings - as Cubs shut out Rangers
Marcus Stroman's first two starts of the season have come with temperatures of 42 and 43 degrees at Wrigley Field.
Those conditions certainly qualify as hitter-unfriendly, especially with the wind blowing in. The results speak for themselves, though. Stroman has yet to allow a run in 12 innings pitched as he led the Cubs to a 2-0 victory Friday over the Texas Rangers.
"It could have been 100 degrees, it's not going to matter," Stroman said after the game.
According to Elias, Stroman is just the fourth pitcher in Cubs history to start the season with two outings of at least six scoreless innings. The last to do it was Mike Bielecki in 1991.
Stroman's groundout-to-fly-out ratio through two games is 15-2. He got in trouble with walks a couple of times Friday, but he got off the mound in the sixth by coaxing a grounder to second from Josh Jung with the bases loaded.
"The sinker looks like it's moving as much as I've seen it since he's been here," Cubs manager David Ross said. "The way he competes and loves the spotlight, he's done a really nice job so far."
By adding shortstop Dansby Swanson and first baseman Eric Hosmer, the Cubs improved their infield defense, which gives Stroman even more confidence in his sinker. And Stroman was a pretty confident guy to begin with.
"I actually feel like if I get my sinker to where I can get it in the zone, it's going to be an out the majority of the time," Stroman said. "If you give me more confidence, that's a scary sight."
Stroman threw to catcher Tucker Barnhart for the first time. This entire season will be a test of Jed Hoyer's big-picture strategy of passing on the chance to re-sign an excellent offensive catcher, Willson Contreras, and fall in line with what other teams have done: alternate two defensive catchers who can focus on pitch-calling.
"Tuck's great, he's incredible," Stroman said. "He's got that Gold (Glove) for a reason. So I feel like between him and Yan (Gomes), they're two great unbelievable backstops who are so locked in pitch to pitch, making adjustments in their game-calling.
"They're guys who are going out with their main goal to kind of guide the staff. I have the utmost confidence in those guys. I didn't shake off one time today. I felt like we got in a really good rhythm."
Cubs hitters didn't exactly tear the cover off the ball against Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi, but they got a few timely hits. Eovaldi faced nine batters in the first three innings before Nico Hoerner singled leading off the fourth.
Hoerner was forced at second by Dansby Swanson, but Swanson stole second base for the first time in his Cubs career, setting the stage for a Cody Bellinger RBI single to right.
Bellinger went 0-for-11 at the plate during the opening series at Wrigley Field. So it was a relief to get a hit, but also to not see an infielder standing in short right field, as MLB tried to eliminate extreme shifts this season.
"That ball is most likely a ground ball that's a routine play and thrown to first base, so it's nice to see hits that have always been hits, hits again," Bellinger said. "I was full of adrenaline and excitement (last week). I was feeling good but wasn't able to relax as much as I could have."
Ian Happ drove in the second run in the sixth, hitting the only ball that carried all day, and it bounced off Adolis Garcia's glove in center field for a double that drove home Barnhart. Reliever Michael Fulmer finished the game with a two-inning save.
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports