Cubs blanked; Steele gets good news, but return from elbow soreness unclear
Justin Steele believes he heard positive news from doctors Tuesday after getting an MRI on his left elbow, but the Cubs aren't ready to declare victory yet.
Steele was scratched from his start against Pittsburgh due to soreness in the left elbow. Kyle Hendricks stepped in to take his place and pitched well, allowing just 2 runs over 5 innings. The offense decided to take a break, though, after a record-setting road trip and the Cubs lost their second straight to the Pirates 5-0 at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs loaded the bases in each of the first two innings against rookie sensation Paul Skenes, but couldn't get the breakthrough clutch hit.
“The first three innings, we played as good an offense as you could play without scoring, unfortunately,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “He made pitches in the end to get out of each of those innings. Seiya (Suzuki's) ball leading off the fifth, maybe that ends the day for him if that's a double, but it gets caught at the wall and their bullpen did a nice job.”
Last week in a Hendricks vs. Skenes matchup, the Cubs scored 11 runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to complete an unlikely comeback. This time, the Cubs managed just one base runner — an Ian Happ single in the seventh — from the fourth inning on.
“Our guys were putting together such good ABs in those first couple innings,” Hendricks said. “I felt like the second and third innings, I just wasn't on the attack enough; didn't get quick enough innings to keep that momentum on our side.”
These two losses to the Pirates were already bad news for the Cubs' playoff hopes, they certainly don't need one of their top pitchers on the shelf.
“I think it was the right decision to not necessarily start today and get some imaging and kind of find out exactly what it is,” Steele said in the clubhouse before the game.
“I've been able to do what I want to do, execute pitches and whatnot, but it comes to a point where it's like, 'How long do you want to continue to pitch through something? How bad will it get if you continue to do so?'”
Steele said the doctor told him there was no serious damage, just some inflammation, according to the imaging. For now, the Cubs are not going to put him on the injured list, though it's possible that could still happen.
“I think we're probably halfway through getting all the information, but so far so good,” Counsell said. “We're going to get another set of eyes, another read on it, just to be comfortable for both our sake and for Justin's sake.
“He has symptoms. They're not bad symptoms, but enough to prevent him obviously from pitching tonight. He's hopeful to play catch tomorrow and that will tell us something as well.”
Counsell said if they feel like Steele will be able to pitch within a week, he likely won't go on the IL. But even if he does end up on the injured list, there's still an expectation he'll be able to pitch again this season.
Jordan Wicks returned from the injured list on Sunday and earned a win against Washington, which helps with the pitching rotation. If Steele is able to make his next turn, it would be Monday in Los Angeles.
“It's something I've kind of just been managing,” Steele said of the elbow soreness. “I can't really pinpoint a date (it began) or anything like that. I threw my last bullpen in Washington and (pitching coach) Tommy (Hottovy) could tell I was feeling a little something.”