The Chicago Cubs desperately needed to get back in the win column on Friday and they did, defeating the Colorado Rockies 6-0 and then David Ross dropped a major bombshell at the end of his postgame press conference.
Marcus Stroman, who returned from the injured list a week ago against the Arizona Diamondbacks and made two relief appearances last weekend, will now be the starting pitcher on Saturday.
Left-handed rookie Jordan Wicks was scheduled to get the starting nod against the Rockies, but now Stroman will get his first start since July 31.
Right now, it’s still not clear if Stroman will be used as a traditional starter, seeing that he did not have much time to build up his stamina and pitch count after spending several weeks sidelined with two different injuries. The Cubs may very well deploy Stroman as an opener, meaning he’ll technically be the starting pitcher, but won’t be in the game for more than a few innings. Of course, if Stroman can be efficient, then the team may give him a longer leash against the Rockies.
As for Wicks, he faced the Rockies last week in Colorado and pitched well at Coors Field, allowing just one run on three hits and a walk in six innings of work. The lefty has a 2.67 ERA in 27 innings through his first five starts in the majors.
Stroman made back-to-back relief outings against the Diamondbacks after missing a little more than six weeks of action. He tossed two scoreless frames and then came in during Saturday’s extra-innings game, when he did allow an un-earned run in the 10th. That was his last appearance, so Stroman has had some time to refresh in preparation for Saturday’s outing against the Rockies.
Overall this season, Stroman has recorded a 3.76 ERA in 131.2 innings.
Jordan Wicks Pushed Back to Sunday
David Ross confirmed on Saturday that left-handed pitcher Jordan Wicks has been pushed back and will make the start against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday. So, any thought of the Cubs using Wicks in a piggyback role with Marcus Stroman on Saturday is no longer a consideration.
Stroman last started for the Cubs on July 31, against the Cincinnati Reds before he was placed on the injured list with a hip issue. He made two relief appearances against the Arizona Diamondbacks last week and I’m just not sure how long Stroman has in the tank to go against the Rockies today.
In my mind, the best-case scenario is that Stroman is able to finish four innings, but then that still leaves five innings of work for a struggling bullpen.
Drew Smyly tossed two scoreless innings on Friday and he’ll most likely not be available Saturday after pitching in three of the previous four days. Smyly has suddenly turned into a key weapon for David Ross out the bullpen, as the left-handed pitcher has been great since he was moved to a reliever role in mid-August. In his last 13 appearances as a reliever, Smyly has recorded a 1.53 ERA in 17.2 innings, with 24 strikeouts and 8 walks.
One possibility is that the Cubs turn to Javier Assad after Stroman reaches his pitch limit and just as I was typing this Ross confirmed that Assad is back in the bullpen and will be ready if needed Saturday.
Via Tony Andracki.
David Ross said Javier Assad is available in Cubs bullpen Saturday and expectation moving forward is Stroman in the rotation and Assad in the bullpen.
Assad last pitched on Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The righty picked up the win after striking out eight and allowing one run in five innings.
Assad did a great job filling in for Stroman in the starting rotation, posting a 2.84 ERA in nine starts since Aug. 5. Overall this season, Assad has recorded a 3.04 ERA in 100.2 innings. Hopefully Assad can relieve some pressure and cover multiple innings at a time from a depleted group of Cubs relievers.
