After striking out Cardinals center fielder Lars Nootbaar, Cubs left-hander Justin Steele left to a thunderous ovation from the 34,593 in attendance at Wrigley Field.
While the Cubs’ season has been disappointing, Steele has emerged as the pitcher the team needs and also the tone-setter.
He rebounded after allowing a two-run home run to Masyn Winn in the third inning. Steele walked Willson Contreras, but then struck out Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. He retired 12 consecutive batters until Alec Burleson reached on a fielding error by third baseman Isaac Paredes.
Steele threw 6⅔ innings, allowed two runs and three hits, walked two and struck out six in the Cubs’ 6-2 victory Sunday against the Cardinals to capture the team’s second series since the All-Star break. It was Steele’s ninth quality start of the season and his first time going at least six innings since July 11 against the Orioles.
This season has been uneven for Steele, who missed a month with a hamstring strain. He has had some rough outings, such as his performance against the Reds on Tuesday, when he allowed five runs.
“I thought that just his last two starts, kind of struggling through the first inning, and today it was really crisp for the first two innings,” manager Craig Counsell said. ‘‘Then he fell behind Winn, who got him with a home run. But he recovered from that and was really sharp the rest of the day.”
The Cubs’ offense provided support for Steele with 11 hits. Left fielder Mike Tauchman and catcher Miguel Amaya had solo homers.
The team’s defense — which has hurt Steele this season — had some strong moments. In the second inning, shortstop Dansby Swanson made an impressive stop and rifled a throw to Paredes to get the out at third and eliminate a scoring threat.
“Those are the kinds of plays that keep a pitcher in a ballgame,” Steele said. “Getting the out instead of there being a runner on third just goes such a long way as far as my pitch count, getting me deeper into the ballgame, not letting the run score, just all kinds of things.”
Despite the series win, the Cubs are still six games back of a wild-card spot and have an uphill battle to make the playoffs. Steele said he doesn’t look at the team’s record, but he understands the position the team’s in. He said he hasn’t thought about a potential playoff run.
Steele’s teammates realize the level of urgency the team has to play with.
“The guys just know we have to play our best ball,” Tauchman said. “There’s not a lot of room for error. I think the group believes in itself. We believe that we have the right people in here to rattle off some wins, but the results gotta be here the next seven weeks.”
The team’s inability to go on long winning streaks is why they sit at 55-59.
“My only thought, really, is keep winning games,” said Steele (3-5, 3.33 ERA). “We’ll give ourselves a chance.”
