Stroman’s start lands him in exclusive Cubs club originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Marcus Stroman continued his remarkable start to the 2023 season on Tuesday night against the Oakland Athletics, and his success has landed him in a couple of unique clubs in the history of the team.
Stroman, who has a 2-1 record in four starts this season, pitched six shutout innings against Oakland on Tuesday, with five strikeouts and two walks in that outing.
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He now has four consecutive quality starts to begin the regular season, and thanks to that run of success, he’s in elite company.
According to Stathead’s software, Stroman is now the third Cubs pitcher in the team’s history to allow two or fewer runs total in his first four starts of the regular season, joining Steve Stone, who achieved the feat in 1976, and Jason Hammel, who got off to a strong start in the 2016 season.
Stroman and Hammel posted identical 0.75 ERA’s in their first four starts, with Stroman having one more walk and three additional strikeouts over Hammel’s strong performance to kick off the year.
Chicago Tribune baseball scribe Meghan Montemurro also unearthed another interesting historical tidbit after Stroman’s outing. Stroman became the second Cubs starter to post at least three or more scoreless outings of six innings or more within the season’s first 16 games since Jake Arrieta got off to a blistering start to the 2016 campaign.
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The red-hot Cubs will hope to finish off a series sweep against the Athletics on Wednesday, with first pitch scheduled for 2:37 p.m. in the Bay Area.
