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Jesse Rogers, ESPN Staff WriterSep 2, 2024, 11:01 PM ET
- Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com.
CHICAGO — 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.
“It stinks,” Monday’s starter, Jameson Taillon, said. “From everything I heard, we’re hoping it’s just a quick thing. He means a lot to this group.”
Even a short-term loss is a blow to the Cubs, who have climbed back into the National League wild-card race. Monday’s loss to the Pirates, however, didn’t help their cause.
Chicago led 3-0 in the eighth after Taillon pitched seven scoreless innings, but reliever Jorge Lopez gave up two home runs to propel the Pirates to the win while snapping Chicago’s six-game winning streak. It dropped it 3½ games behind the Atlanta Braves in the wild-card chase. The Braves were idle on Monday.
Steele has emerged as one of the better lefties in the National League after a breakout season in 2023. He spent a month on the injured list earlier this year after hurting his hamstring on Opening Day. The Cubs are hoping it won’t be as long this time around, as elbow injuries aren’t normally measured in days as much as weeks — or longer.
Taillon tried to find the positive in the day.
“We just got [Jordan] Wicks back [from injury] which is awesome,” Taillon said. “We’ll continue to keep going and step up.”
Righty Kyle Hendricks will starts in Steele’s place on Tuesday, facing Pirates rookie Paul Skenes.
