By Jordan Long
The Chicago Cubs started a quick two game set against their crosstown rivals, the Chicago White Sox last night. The White Sox took game one 5-3. The Cubs look to even the series tonight with the first pitch at 6:05 Mountain Time. The Cubs thought they would have ace Marcus Stroman back tonight. That timeline has been pushed back.
Stroman’s record this year is 10-8. The 10 wins are the second most on the team. Justin Steele leads the Cubs with 13 wins. Stroman’s ERA is 3.85. In some of his starts, he pitches well, limiting the opponent’s offense. The problem is the Cubs bats go silent and he doesn’t get offensive help. Those games are typically losses for him.
Stroman hasn’t pitched since July 31st against the Cincinnati Reds. Stroman lasted 3 innings, giving up 6 hits and 6 runs. The runs were all earned. The Cubs lost the game 6-5. The next day, Stroman was placed on the injured list with right hip inflammation hoping he would return to the rotation for the stretch run to the playoffs.
The Cubs expected him to be ready. Stroman even pitched a 50-pitch bullpen session on Friday in Toronto. It went well and all signs pointed for him to be back in the rotation. This is now going to be delayed. Stroman is experiencing rib discomfort and has been scratched from his start tonight. The Cubs most likely will go with Javier Assad tonight.
According to sports.yahoo.com, Cubs’ Manager David Ross said, “The one positive to this is Javier Assad is throwing the ball really well. That’s kind of how I’m looking at it. … We’ve got to keep pitching well. If (Stroman is) out longer or pushed back a couple of days, the concern is we’ve just got to wait and see.”
For Stroman, this is hopefully a minor setback. He wants to be back pitching for the Cubs. The time for his return is now unknown at this point.
The Cubs are looking to earn a playoff spot for the first time since 2020 which was the COVID-shortened season. Chicago is 3.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the National League Central Division. They are one game back of the Miami Marlins for the 3rd and final Wild Card spot. If the Cubs fail to earn a playoff spot, they could look back at Stroman’s injury as the turning point of the season. There is still plenty of baseball left for the Cubs to earn a playoff spot.
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