For Cubs, April schedule akin to 'playoff baseball'

CHICAGO -- Cubs manager David Ross likened the past two series against the Dodgers to the postseason. Seven games in front of packed ballparks. Each manager studying how the other utilizes his bullpen. Big momentum-swinging home runs.

It was also an early-season measuring stick against one of baseball's consistent October participants from recent years. True, the current Dodgers squad is not at full strength, and is missing some of its recent stars, but this has nonetheless provided a litmus test of sorts for a Cubs team dreaming of a playoff berth.

"We see where we stack up against them," Cubs starter Marcus Stroman said after Sunday's 7-3 loss at Wrigley Field. "We don't feel like we're way behind them."

It was Stroman against legendary lefty Clayton Kershaw in the finale, which L.A. claimed behind a trio of home runs against Chicago's rotation leader. That gave the Dodgers the series win in Chicago -- the Cubs dropped three of four at home -- and the victory in the season series, 4-3.

In the four games at the Friendly Confines, the Cubs and Dodgers scored 22 runs apiece. Overall in the seven games against L.A., the North Siders scored six runs more than the Dodgers. That was helped by the 13-0 blowout authored by the Cubs on Friday.

Altogether, the Cubs came away feeling like they could compete with a playoff-caliber club like the Dodgers.

"It felt like playoff baseball," Ross said. "I feel like we're right there with a really good team. We're a good team. They're a good team. And we had some really hard-fought battles."

The Stroman-led rotation is one of the reasons the Cubs have been able to get off to a solid start to this season. Entering Sunday, Chicago's starting staff had a 2.96 ERA, which led the National League and ranked third in the Majors. Stroman came into the afternoon with an NL-lowest 0.75 ERA.

Stroman also entered his outing against the Dodgers with a 61.4% ground-ball rate, which led qualified NL pitchers and ranked second in MLB. He had not given up a home run, and his homerless streak climbed to 20 innings with two clean frames to open his outing on Sunday.

Mookie Betts ended that run by Stroman by pulling a 1-0 sinker into the left-center-field seats for a two-run homer in the third inning.

"Mookie made a really good swing on a decent pitch," Stroman said. "But Mookie's a legend himself. It's always a battle with him."

Things spiraled on Stroman in the sixth, when he uncharacteristically issued a four-pitch walk to Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman. That set the stage for Max Muncy -- a thorn in Chicago's side with five homers in the seven games -- who sent an inside cutter from Stroman out to right field.

Two pitches later, J.D. Martinez pulled a breaking ball from Stroman out to left-center, putting the Cubs in a 5-3 hole. It marked the first time since June 3 last season that Stroman allowed three home runs in one game.

"I lost my mechanics a bit," Stroman said. "Those guys are incredible talents. Max Muncy, he's very locked in right now. I threw a cutter that didn't do what it's supposed to do and he put a great swing on it. And then J.D."

Stroman summed up his performance as "two bad pitches," adding: "I already know the adjustments I have to make mechanically. I already know what I'll work on during this week."

The next time Stroman takes the mound will be in Miami, following a stretch of 13 games out of 16 against playoff teams from last October. So far, the Cubs have gone 5-5 against the Mariners and Dodgers. The Padres are next on the schedule.

That will serve as another test for these Cubs.

"We're going to obviously have ups and downs throughout the year," Stroman said. "That's normal over a 162-game schedule. But I'm excited to ride out with the guys we have in the clubhouse, because I think we're going to continue to get better and better each and every day."