Nobody is worried about Cubs starter Marcus Stroman after back-to-back bad starts, including Marcus Stroman.
“It’s two bad starts," Stroman said. "That’s all it is.”
But he’s also not making excuses.
“I gotta be better,” the Cubs starter said.
On a rainy night at Wrigley Field, Stroman pitched 4 1/3 innings against the Rays, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits and a pair of walks.
He walked two batters and allowed a double and a home run in a four-run Rays first inning. Six of the eight hits he allowed went for extra bases. The Rays won 8-2 in a 5 1/2-inning, rain-shortened affair.
“I can't spot my team [four] runs down in the first and expect to get a win,” Stroman said. “That's not even realistic.
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“I gotta be better. There's no one that's harder on me than myself, and I truly believe that I’ll be better each and every time going forward.”
It’s the second straight start Stroman has failed to make it past the fifth inning. He surrendered five runs in four innings last week against the Rockies.
He said his most recent bullpen session went well, and manager David Ross also said the team was encouraged coming out of it.
But Stroman said he felt “completely different” mechanically on the mound Wednesday.
“I’m just off right now, just a mess a bit mechanically,” he said. “I can't find any rhythm, nothing seems synonymous. Every pitch essentially feels like I'm doing something different mechanically. It just kind of comes and goes in stretches.
“I feel great for an inning or a few batters and then kind of just lose it. It's frustrating. It's beyond frustrating.”
Poor conditions at Wrigley didn’t help. The Cubs made three errors, two of which immediately led to runs.
But Stroman didn’t blame his performance on the weather and already is turning the page.
“I’m not someone to dwell," Stroman said. "I’m going to do everything I can to work on things and improve — as I would do if I had a great start. I’m always adapting and changing.
"I’m a realist. This is not half a bad season. This is two bad starts. I’m going to keep it at that and keep moving forward."