Steele quietly showing ace quality with 'funky' and 'relentless' stuff

OAKLAND -- Another day, another quality start for Justin Steele.

The Cubs' left-hander limited the A’s to two runs (one earned) in six innings on Wednesday afternoon, striking out five, and Chicago beat Oakland, 12-2, to complete a dominant three-game sweep.

“Great performance by Steelie,” manager David Ross said. “I thought he did what he does well. … He made his pitches down and in, the slider off that, the breaking ball, broke out the changeup only a few times today, but he pounded the zone with what he did well, and I thought he had a lot of success in that.”

Steele (3-0) has made four straight quality starts to begin the season, recording a 1.44 ERA. Dating back to last year, he has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 11 consecutive starts.

“He’s building off last year,” Ross said. “It just looks like he’s picked up right where he left off last year, being really consistent for us, a very valuable piece at the top of our rotation who we expect big things from.”

Since July 22, 2022, Steele has a sparkling 1.17 ERA, the best of any pitcher in the Majors with a minimum of 10 starts.

“I felt like even the first half of last year, I was constantly putting stuff together, figuring stuff out, always adapting, always learning,” Steele explained. “And I kind of feel like the stuff that was going on in the first half started coming together and falling my way, and I just kind of caught a groove.”

Perhaps most impressive has been the way Steele has navigated lineups, using just a fastball-slider combination to record outs. In an era when starting pitchers almost always feature at least four types of pitches, Steele is showing it’s not a necessity.

“It’s super impressive,” catcher Tucker Barnhart said. “You typically see that out of relievers, the two-pitch mix. But it’s funky, it’s relentless. His fastball just kind of goes away. Sometimes his slider turns into a curveball. Sometimes his curveball turns into a slider. So it looks maybe like two pitches, but sometimes it’s three, maybe four, even if he throws a straight heater and then he throws a fastball that cuts. But it shows how good both of those pitches are.”

Steele got plenty of run support on Wednesday, as the offense erupted for 12 runs, including Eric Hosmer’s first home run as a Cub.

For the series, Chicago outscored Oakland, 26-3, extending its winning streak to four games. The Cubs finished their road trip 5-1 and have won 10 of their last 13 overall.

“I feel like we’ve all been doing our job,” Steele said. “Just as far as the whole team goes, we’re kind of just clicking on all cylinders right now.”

The pitching, in particular, has been stellar. Chicago’s rotation leads the National League with a 2.96 ERA and .217 opponents’ batting average.

“I think it’s the consistency, really, from one day to the next,” Barnhart said. “It’s been super impressive, and we’re just going to keep it going.”

Steele, like most of the Cubs' pitching staff, has excelled with little national fanfare. Now in his third Major League season, the 27-year-old has gained a new level of confidence.

“A little more experienced, a little more mature,” Steele noted. “I’m able to attack things differently, and that feels good for me.”

Added Ross: “Flying under the radar is not always a bad thing. We know he’s really good.”