Enhanced Box Score: Pirates 5, Cubs 4 – May 16, 2024 – Bleacher Nation

The Cubs had a golden opportunity handed to them in the bottom of the eighth inning when leadoff man Seiya Suzuki was hit by a pitch and reached third on a swinging bunt (+ error) for Cody Bellinger immediately after.

Chris Morel was able to get one run in on a sac fly, but Ian Happ (who had homered earlier) struck out and Nick Madrigal grounded out softly. That moment for Madrigal – and the big/late opportunities for Miles Mastrobuoni against Aroldis Chapman and then David Bednar in the 9th – really make you miss Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson tonight. Each of Mastrobuoni and Madrigal have come through on occasion this season, but this team cannot go much longer with them up the middle.

So that’s a ho-hum Cubs loss at Wrigley Field to open the series with Kyle Hendricks on the bump for a 1:20 start versus the top pitching prospect in baseball, Paul Skenes, tomorrow.

But before you go … Let’s briefly talk Justin Steele.

While we’re going to have to get into Justin Steele’s start in greater depth tomorrow, there are a few high-level things I think are worth pointing out tonight.

First of all, don’t lose sight of the fact that Steele was just one really weird Seiya Suzuki error away from going 6.0 IP with 4ER, 1 walk, and 7Ks. That still might not be as good as you’d want to see from him, but it obviously looks a WHOLE lot better than his actual final line: 5.2 IP, 6H, 5ER, 1BB, 7K.

Second of all, I told you before the game, but it bears repeating: for as bad as the Pirates are this season, their offense versus left-handed pitching has actually been quite good. That’s not an excuse, because Steele should be better than them, but it feels like important context – especially considering how many whiffs and strikeouts he ultimately recorded tonight.

Third of all, it’s never easy for a pitcher to face the same lineup twice in short-order (Steele’s last start also came against the Pirates). And don’t forget that he’s just three starts into his return from a lengthy stay on the Injured List. It’s all part of the calculus.

And lastly (though this is the part we’ll have to dig deeper in on tomorrow, because there could be some hidden red flags in this seemingly good sign), Steele had really strong velocity tonight. So at least we can surmise that he probably FEELS good.

But yes, that was a bad outing overall and there’s really no escaping that. The sheer volume of hard contact and extra-base damage (even with the wind) was not something you want to see out of your ace against that team. The Pirates have now hit FIVE homers off Steele in just 9.2 IP. That’s pretty insane for a guy who allowed 14 home runs total all of last season.

Full Box Score.