Chicago Cubs' Ace Steele Having Worst Stretch at Worst Time

Wednesday was set up to be a big day for the Chicago Cubs.

They had just throttled the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday to stop their losing streak and show they still had life left in them as they continue chasing the postseason.

With their ace Justin Steele set to take the mound, it was expected the Cubs would win their second game in a row.

That did not happen.

After cruising through the first three innings, the fourth took a dark turn for Steele when the Pirates recorded six straight singles that scored four runs.

The ace was chased out of the game in that inning before recording a single out.

"It happened fast," manager David Ross said after the game. "Six straight hits, the alarm goes off a little bit, like, ‘What's going on?'"

Reliever Jose Cuas was brought in to stop the damage but gave up a three run homer that capped the seven run inning, six of them being credited to Steele.

It's the second time in as many starts that he's allowed six earned runs.

In many ways, the recent struggles of their left hander down the stretch is a microcosm of what's been going on with Chicago as a whole.

The Cubs have now lost nine of their last 12 games. The only reason they're still in the Wild Card picture is because the Miami Marlins and Cincinnati Reds have been inconsistent in their own right.

With 10 games remaining, this is the time where everyone needs to step up and play their best baseball.

That hasn't been the case with Steele, dropping two of the most important starts he's had all season.

But despite that, Ross is still confident that he'll deliver when Chicago needs him.

"He’s one of the best starting pitchers in the National League this year. He’s been steady for us. He’s been the guy. We’ve relied on him all year and he’s been fantastic, and we’ll continue to rely on him moving forward," he told Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.

They'll need him to return to his Cy Young form the next time he takes the mound.