Marcus Stroman carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning of Monday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, and although he did lose that bid, he was able to finish off a complete game one-hitter in a 1-0 victory for the Chicago Cubs.
Stroman struck out eight batters and allowed a total of three base runners in the game, with one runner apiece reaching via walk, hit-by-pitch and a slicing single hit by Wander Franco in the seventh inning that ended the no-hitter.
The lone run of the game scored on a sacrifice fly by Mike Tauchman in the fourth inning, and Stroman was able to make it stand up as the Cubs’ offense struggled against the Rays.
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The Cubs did have a chance to score in the bottom of the second inning, but Dansby Swanson was stranded at second base when Tucker Barnhart popped out to shortstop.
The fourth inning is where the Cubs finally struck, as Seiya Suzuki reached on an infield single. He also advanced to second on a throwing error on the play, and that proved useful as he then advanced to third on a flyout by Swanson.
Tauchman’s sacrifice fly to right scored Suzuki, giving the Cubs a 1-0 lead.
Stroman cruised through the first six innings of the game, yielding just one baserunner before he allowed a slicing single by Franco to open up the top of the seventh inning.
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Franco then promptly stole second base and Brandon Lowe walked, but after a flyout by Randy Arozarena Stroman was able to induce a double play off the bat of Josh Lowe to finish off the inning undamaged.
From there, Stroman retired the last six batters he faced, ending the game with a Franco ground out for a 105-pitch one-hitter.
The series will continue on Tuesday night when the Cubs and Rays square off again, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m.