The Cubs have won 4 straight series and Marcus Stroman has won 7 straight starts.

Stroman tossed 7 shutout innings Tuesday night in Pittsburgh as the Cubs blanked the Pirates for the second straight night with a 4-0 victory.

“You can’t lose if you don’t give up any runs,” Cubs catcher Tucker Barnhart said in a postgame interview with Taylor McGregor.

It was the 7th straight quality start for Stroman and his league-leading 14th quality start of the season. (No other MLB pitcher has more than 11 quality starts this season.)

He lowered his season ERA to 2.28 with the gem, in which he struck out 5 and scattered 5 hits and a walk.

Stroman escaped a jam in the 7th inning by striking out Pittsburgh’s Cal Mitchell and walked off the mound with an emphatic celebration:

WELCOME TO THE STRO SHOW! pic.twitter.com/IPqdCXIQbf

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) June 21, 2023

Stroman continued to state his case to start the All-Star Game for the National League squad next month.

“Probably the MVP of our group right now,” David Ross said to reporters after the game. “A really, really valuable player.”

“It’s a lot of work,” Stroman said to the media after the game. “All the work I put in, my pops instilled it in me from a young age. It’s the endless amount of hours that nobody sees of work. My work comes from my confidence — I know there’s nobody more prepared than I am out there on the field.

“When I step out there, there’s nothing in my head that has any bit of doubt of things that I could’ve done to make my game even better. I’m confident. Like a true, real confidence. It’s not a fake confidence and that’s not going anywhere anytime soon.”

Stroman’s battery mate, Barnhart, got the Cubs on the board first with a solo homer in the 3rd inning. It was the first longball of the season for the veteran catcher.

Mike Tauchman continued his surge atop the Cubs order with an 8th-inning homer to give his team more breathing room. Cody Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki each added a sacrifice fly as the Cubs coasted to their 9th win in the last 11 games.

With the win, the Cubs are now 5-0 this season against the Pirates, who were in 1st place as recently as last week.

The Cubs have now won back-to-back-to-back-to-back series against the Giants, Pirates (twice) and Orioles over the last week-and-a-half. With the win, the Cubs improved to 35-38 on the season with a +21 run differential, which is tops in the NL Central.

The Cubs go for the sweep in Pittsburgh Wednesday with Kyle Hendricks on the mound. Cubs Live! begins at 11 a.m. on Marquee Sports Network.