CHICAGO -- After getting swept and outscored 28-5 on the road against the Yankees over the weekend, the Cubs, understandably, welcomed a return to Wrigley Field.

“A lot of us enjoy playing here at Wrigley,” outfielder Jason Heyward said before taking the field against the Padres on Monday night. “What I can do is be myself and have fun competing.” 

The return to Wrigley Field didn’t help the Cubs end their longest losing streak of the season. Justin Steele dueled ex-Cub Yu Darvish on even terms for seven innings, but San Diego broke through against the bullpen, handing the Cubs a 4-1 defeat, their seventh straight.

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The vibes remain positive throughout the Cubs’ clubhouse.

“We got another game; it’s a 162-game season,” Heyward said. “Keep fighting. Those days will happen. It doesn’t matter what your record is. Some of the best teams have tough days, tough series, tough weekends. That’s part of it.”

Added manager David Ross: “They continue to battle and fight. The road trip was tough but we’ve been in a lot of the games. These guys continue to work hard and compete every at-bat.”

Steele gave the team a chance to snap its skid by delivering his third quality start of the season and his second in as many starts. The left-hander tossed seven strong innings, giving up just six hits and one run with three strikeouts.

But after just 77 pitches, Steele was taken out before the eighth inning. A first-inning comebacker with 85.3 mph exit velocity, which the southpaw tried to barehand, was the reason why.

“Tonight was an easy [decision],” Ross said. “The velocity continued to drop. I started to get worried about how much pressure he was taking off his finger. I’m not taking him out -- the way he’s pitching at 77 pitches [if it wasn’t for the finger].”

In the first inning, Steele was throwing fastballs 91-93 mph. By the time the seventh inning rolled around, that number was 88-89. 

“I definitely wanted to keep competing,” Steele said. “I feel like I had my stuff, and I definitely didn’t want to come out of the game tonight. The pain was manageable.”

On Steele’s throwing hand, a blister formed on his middle finger that almost had the 26-year-old exit in the first inning. The trainers ripped off the skin, and the left-hander was good to go -- with very little pain. It actually didn’t hurt at all, and it was his index finger that was bothering him. 

“The blister wasn’t hurting,” Steele said. “The index finger, when the ball made initial contact, was hurting. I could feel it when I gripped down on the ball. We’ll see how it feels tomorrow, but as far as I’m concerned, I’m fine.”

The southpaw’s performance was much-needed for a Cubs rotation that has struggled recently. In the first six games of the skid, Chicago’s starters gave up 20 earned runs over 23 2/3 innings.

“Credit to him for a gutsy outing,” Ross said. “[He] pitched a phenomenal game.”

Steele’s success is a formula for the Cubs to get back to winning. Over his last two starts, he has pitched a combined 14 innings while allowing just two earned runs.

His recent fastball usage has also paved the way for that dominance. Monday was another example of Jon Lester’s advice working for the young Cubs’ pitcher as Steele threw his four-seam fastballs 54 times and his sinker six times.

“I honed in on my fastball command,” Steele said. “I was just trying to command the four-seam and the sinker to both sides of the plate.”

Despite the loss, Monday was another example of Steele showing his potential in the Majors. And even with another loss, the vibes still remain great around the team. 

“There’s not a lot to be down about,” Ross said. “We’re not winning, but we got a long way to go and hanging our heads doesn’t make it fun to come to work.”