The Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Angels on Friday afternoon behind some stellar pitching from left-hander Justin Steele.
Steele, a 2023 All-Star, pitched nine innings, allowing just one earned run on two hits, while walking two and striking out seven.
Amazingly, it was his first win of the year, ending a streak unmatched in baseball history.
@JayHayKid of the “Baseball is Dead” podcast made the following comments before the game:
Justin Steele is 0-3 with a 3.20 ERA in 12 starts this season.
Steele is the first pitcher since Ricky Clarke in 1968 with a sub-3.50 ERA and no wins in his first 12 games of a season.
Justin Steele is 0-3 with a 3.20 ERA in 12 starts this season.
Steele is the first pitcher since Ricky Clarke in 1968 with a sub-3.50 ERA and no wins in his first 12 games of a season.
— Nugget Chef (@jayhaykid) July 5, 2024
With the win, Steele is now 1-3 with a 2.95 ERA. The 28-year-old Steele has started just 13 times since being placed on the disabled list earlier this year, pitching 79.1 innings and striking out 77 batters. This is Steele’s fourth season, all with the Cubs. He has a career record of 25-19 with a 3.23 ERA.
With the win, the Cubs are 41-48 this season and are last in the National League Central, so they are sure to be sold at the trade deadline, which would bring in several attractive players, including Cody Bellinger and Nico Hoerner.
With this loss, the Angels are now 36-51 and in fourth place in the American League West.
The teams will meet again on Saturday at 2:20pm ET, with Tyler Anderson (LAA) facing off against Kyle Hendricks (CHC).
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