Marcus Stroman Remains Effective Despite Tough Loss To Marlins

Chicago Cubs ace Marcus Stroman continued his strong 2023 MLB season despite his team dropping the first of three to the Miami Marlins.

Marcus Stroman has morphed into a Cy Young Award candidate for the Chicago Cubs.

It’s almost shocking when he doesn’t throw six or seven scoreless innings.

Even on a subpar night – well, not really – Stroman still kept the Cubs in the game in what wound up being a 3-2 loss to the Miami Marlins on Friday.

Stroman allowed two runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings, which is clearly a quality start.

“I feel like I’m starting to catch my stride and as the year progresses, I won’t have those spurts where I kind of lose it with a batter on four pitches,” Stroman said, referring to giving up a walk to Luis Arraez.

Following the outing, Stroman’s ERA raised from 2.17 to 2.29.

That’s being picky.

Stroman has not only proven to be an ace for the Cubs but one of the top pitchers in all of Major League Baseball.

He has become a leader in the new-look Cubs clubhouse and appears fearless on the mound.

With five quality starts so far, the Cubs can rely on Stroman to produce.

He’s anchoring a strong starting staff with Justin Steele and Drew Smyly also off to stellar starts.

Make no mistake, Stroman is the leader.

"We're very, very nasty," Stroman said of Chicago's rotation last week. "We have different looks. Everyone kind of has a different repertoire being thrown at you every five days. No one's similar, essentially. I love our mix. I feel like we have the type of group that can continue to get stronger as the year goes on."

That's certainly true. If the Cubs are able to make the playoffs, Stroman's leadership will be even more evident as he guides this up-and-coming staff.

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