The 8-year first Justin Steele pulled off in Cubs win originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Justin Steele not only finished off an impressive week for the Cubs’ beleaguered bullpen with six strong innings Sunday against the Diamondbacks, but along the way pulled off a feat far more rare for this organization of late than the quality start.
His career-high 10 strikeouts marked the first double-digit strikeout total by anyone on the staff in almost two year (Kyle Hendricks, Sept. 18, 2020).
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But the big one: It was the first 10-strikeout game by a Cubs pitcher actually drafted by the team since Jeff Samardzija in May of 2014 (thanks to Chicago baseball fact master Christopher Kamka for that gem).
Of course, that says more about the Cubs' woeful track record of scouting and developing homegrown pitching under Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer than it necessarily does about Steele.
But Steele's performance Sunday was impressive nonetheless.
He didn’t get the win but survived some sloppy play behind him in a rough fourth inning (two runs, one earned) to get a 2-2 game to the bullpen before Patrick Wisdom and Frank Schwindel teamed up on a pair of big hits in the ninth for the game-winner in a 3-2 victory.
That gave the Cubs a series win and a 4-2 road trip following a miserable homestand.
The two series victories were their first since the season-opening series against the Brewers.
Steele on Sunday was making his first start since leaving his previous start exactly a week earlier because of a sore thumb.
The quality start Sunday was just the fifth of the season for the Cubs, who also got one in Hendricks’ gem in San Diego on Monday to open the trip.
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