The appreciation of Marcus Stroman continues

The marquee at Bernie’s Tap & Grill across the street from Wrigley Field wasn’t devoted to any drink specials. It simply had a two-word message: “EXTEND STROMAN.”

With Marcus Stroman and Justin Steele atop their rotation, the Cubs have had one of the best pitching staffs in the National League in the first half (second-best, per ERA+). Even at 38-43 after Saturday night’s 6-0 loss to the Guardians, the Cubs are a hot week away from being right in the thick of a sluggish NL Central race. By late Sunday afternoon, both pitchers should be named All-Stars. No Cubs starting pitcher has earned that honor since Jon Lester in 2018.

“[Stroman has] been consistent and solid; we talk about him and Steele in the same breath,” manager David Ross said. “He’s been the horse that we identified, went out and got and paid. He’s earned every bit of that status of being the No. 1, the Opening Day starter and the guy who makes a lot of money to give us a chance to win consistently. He’s done nothing but do that and be a great teammate.”

But as Stroman told the Sun-Times last month, there has been no movement on the extension front since the start of the season despite talks in spring training.

With that, and Stroman’s return from a blister on his right index finger delayed by rain for almost three hours Saturday, there was plenty of idle time to appreciate what the 32-year-old right-hander has accomplished in a season and a half in Wrigleyville.

Since he returned last July from an injured-list stint for a sore throwing shoulder, Stroman entered Saturday night with a 2.51 ERA in 193„ innings.

When the rain finally cleared, a blip in Stroman’s marvelous first half awaited. One out from completing a perfect first turn through the Guardians’ batting order, he made the rare mistake of walking No. 9 hitter Bo Naylor. For that, Stroman was punished with the first hard contact against him: Amed Rosario’s two-out, two-run single in the third inning. Then an out shy of completing six innings, Stroman allowed Andres Gimenez’s two-out RBI single, ending his night.

After reliever Julian Merryweather allowed both his inherited runs to score, Stroman was charged with five earned runs in 5 2/3 innings. The damage spiked Stroman’s ERA to 2.76, still seventh-best in the majors. Even after the dust settled, Stroman leads all major-league pitchers in wins above replacement, per Baseball Reference, and is halfway toward building a Cy Young case.

But with awards season far off, and Stroman’s long-term future on the North Side as cloudy as the skies, Ross could still point to a potential long-term impact he already has had.

“He’s created a nice little culture around him within the starters,” Ross said. “The culture of our starters has really grown in the last two years, and it continues to grow with Kyle [Hendricks], [Jameson Taillon] and [Drew] Smyly and obviously Steele and Stroman to round that out.

“They’ve done a really nice job of creating high expectations for that group. They’re all in that same boat, and Stro’s at the top of that, being that horse.”