Stroman gets unexpected help from favorite catcher, Cubs blank Pirates
One of the things that may be keeping Tucker Barnhart on the Cubs roster is his connection with Marcus Stroman.
Barnhart caught another Stroman quality start on Tuesday in Pittsburgh, but added a surprise - his first home run of the season.
Barnhart put the Cubs ahead early and they finished off a 4-0 victory over the Pirates at PNC Park. The Cubs have now won nine of their last 11, with two straight shutouts in Pittsburgh.
Stroman (9-4) has an NL best 2.28 ERA, which is even lower when Barnhart is his catcher. Stroman went 7 innings, giving up 5 hits, with 5 strikeouts.
"Tucker's been incredible," Stroman told reporters after the game. "Tucker does a great job preparing. I've been very confident in him from Pitch 1 since he's been catching with me and we just developed a great rapport and bond, where he knows what I'm thinking.
"I don't even have to think about pitching, I can just execute. He's been great. I don't even think about shaking (off a pitch call), to be honest with you."
This was Barnhart's first home run since Sept. 3 of last season when he played for Detroit. Mike Tauchman hit his second home run in three days, while Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner both hit triples.
Dansby Swanson got X-rays on his wrist after being hit with a pitch, though he did finish the game.
"That ball (Barnhart) hit out was really loud and a nice swing," Cubs manager David Ross said. "He just missed one foul off the same guy last game. Tuck's been working on some things and the work's paying off."
Ross called Stroman the Cubs' MVP. He's at the very least a strong Cy Young candidate with a chance to start for the National League in the All-Star Game.
He faced the Pirates for the second outing in a row, but talked about how he doesn't like to change his approach. He has confidence in his best pitch and doesn't alter his plan.
"I don't even look at lineups," Stroman said. "I'm someone who pitches with straight-up confidence. I throw my sinker arm-side to everybody, then I expand and go from there. I'm not someone who overanalyzes lineups. I never want to think the hitter I'm facing is better than I. So I just attack. I'm very confident and I attack. I put a lot of trust and faith in my catchers."
Stroman threw the sinker on 50% of his 98 pitches Tuesday, while using a variety of secondary pitches. He got into some trouble in the seventh inning after a double and a walk, while the Cubs' lead was just 2-0. But he struck out pinch-hitter Cal Mitchell to end the inning.
"I always attack guys," he said. "I pitch off my sinker. I feel like everybody knows that, the entire league knows that. There's nobody in the league I don't throw my sinker to, so I'm very confident when it comes to throwing that and then I just go from there.
"I feel like when it comes getting out of jams or late in games, I'm always going to pitch away with my sinker. It's hard to put into words, but I'll throw that middle-middle to anybody."
The Cubs have one more game in Pittsburgh on Wednesday afternoon, then will depart for London, where they'll play two games against the Cardinals this weekend.
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