The Chicago Cubs are doing their best to remain in the hunt for a National League wild card spot, but things haven’t gone their way over the past 24 hours. After they collapsed in their 5-3 loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday, they received a tough injury update on their best starting pitcher in Justin Steele.
Steele fully broke out for the Cubs in 2023, and he’s been solid again for them this season (5-5, 3.09 ERA, 131 K, 1.09 WHIP) at the top of their starting rotation. However, he has been scratched from his scheduled start on Tuesday with elbow soreness, which is pretty much the last thing the Cubs needed to have happen after their crushing defeat on Monday.
“Cubs lefty Justin Steele was scratched from his scheduled start on Tuesday with elbow soreness, manager Craig Counsell announced after the team’s 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night. Steele, 29, is 5-5 with a 3.09 ERA this season as one of the Cubs’ top-of-the rotation arms. It’s unknown how much time he’ll miss as the club should have more information about the severity of the injury on Tuesday afternoon.” – Jesse Rogers, ESPN
Cubs desperately need Justin Steele to stay healthy
The Cubs’ latest loss was particularly disappointing, as they held a 3-0 lead in the eighth inning, only to allow the Pirates to rally and win the game. Chicago now sits 3.5 games out of the final wild card spot in the National League, and they are running out of time to make one final playoff push now that the calendar has officially flipped to September.
Losing Steele, even for one start, hurts the Cubs considerably. He’s been one of their top starting pitchers this season, even if he hasn’t exactly been able to reach the same heights he hit in 2023, when he earned his first All-Star selection and finished fifth in the NL Cy Young race. The hope is that this Steele only has to miss one start and will be able to make his return in the near future.
With Steele’s turn in the rotation getting skipped, Kyle Hendricks will get the ball on Tuesday night, and a quick look at his 2024 numbers (3-10, 6.75 ERA, 69 K, 1.53 WHIP) shows just how valuable Steele is to this team. Steele’s injury status will be worth keeping an eye on over the coming days, and if he’s forced to miss an extended period of time, it could end up being the fatal blow in Chicago’s postseason hopes.
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