The Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Angels on Friday afternoon behind a gem from left-hander Justin Steele.
Steele, an All-Star in 2023, went all nine innings, surrendering just one earned run on two hits. He walked two and struck out seven.
Amazingly enough, it was his first win of the year and snapped a wild streak in baseball history.
@JayHayKid of the "Baseball is Dead" podcast put this note out before the game:
Justin Steele is 0-3, 3.20 ERA through 12 starts this season.
Steele is the first pitcher since Rickey Clark in 1968 for the then-California Angels to be winless through his first 12 starts of a season with an ERA of 3.50 or lower.
Justin Steele is 0-3, 3.20 ERA through 12 starts this season.
— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) July 5, 2024
Steele is the first pitcher since Rickey Clark in 1968 for the then-California Angels to be winless through his first 12 starts of a season with an ERA of 3.50 or lower.
With the win, Steele is now 1-3 with a 2.95 ERA. The 28-year-old has only made 13 starts after spending some time on the injured list earlier in the year. He's now struck out 77 batters in 79.1 innings pitched. He's in his fourth career season, all with the Cubs. Lifetime, he's 25-19 with a 3.23 ERA.
After the win, the Cubs are now 41-48 on the year. They are in last place in the National League Central and are definite contenders to sell at the trade deadline. If they do, they'd have multiple desirable pieces including Cody Bellinger and Nico Hoerner.
The Angels are 36-51 after the loss. They are in fourth place in the American League West.
The two teams will play again on Saturday at 2:20 p.m. ET. Tyler Anderson (LAA) goes against Kyle Hendriks (CHC).