Cubs ace Justin Steele bent - but did not break - in his second start of the season

Justin Steele got his first win of the season in Arizona on Thursday night in the Cubs' 10-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Steele made his second start of the season after pitching in Japan a few weeks ago and went five innings, giving up three runs on six hits, one walk and two strikeouts on 77 pitches. It's not a bad line, though Steele and anyone watching will tell you it was far from his best.

Things looked scary off the bat as the Diamondbacks scored in the first inning with everything coming off the bat hot against Steele and zero whiffs. His stuff looked flat and was catching way too much plate. Out of the gate, the fastball sat around 91 MPH, lacking its usual late life, and the slider did not have the bite it normally has. While working on his changeup too, he hung one to noted Cubs killer Eugenio Suárez in the second inning, which he hit 430 feet at 111.7 MPH off the bat, sending the ball deep into the left-field seats.

While he was noticeably frustrated early with not being able to generate whiffs (four total in the game), particularly in a second-inning 13-pitch at bat against Randal Grichuk, he did not fold. The way the Diamondbacks were swinging early, things could have gone way down the tubes, but Steele held in there and got some help from his defense. Two key defensive plays included Nico Hoerner retiring Grichuk (from that long AB) on a smash to second and Dansby Swanson turning a nifty double play from his knees to close Steele's final frame.

To Steele's credit too, he was able to add more touch on the slider as the game went on, giving it more of that bite. While he did not get a ton of whiffs overall, he did at least get more groundballs as the game went along after the first six hitters hit the ball in the air or on a line.

His start has been compared to the later days of Jon Lester, where he was not dominating but getting by. Steele has been hit pretty hard in his first two starts, giving up three homers in nine innings. This is a guy known for not giving up home runs. He mentioned on the Marquee postgame show that he will work further on his changeup in his next bullpen session. While his start in Tokyo against the Dodgers was not good, at least he kept the game in control in Arizona and gave the Cubs the chance to win. Heck, he was three outs shy of a quality start if that means anything.

While it is too early to be alarmed, the hope is he can find his groove sooner rather than later. Being a pitcher with good command and having that "bulldog" type trait, he can still get by without his best stuff. But being the ace of the staff, we want that dominating type of stuff to come about. Over the past three years, he has ended the season within the same 3.05-3.20 ERA and FIP range, so he deserves the benefit of the doubt if he is healthy and on the mound.