Chicago Cubs Need Cy Young Performance From Their Ace

The Chicago Cubs are entering their most important stretch of the season as they continue fighting for a playoff spot. Their ace needs to deliver a Cy Young performance against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday.

As it stands right now entering Tuesday, the Chicago Cubs are in the 2023 MLB Playoffs.

They're holding onto the final NL Wild Card spot, tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks who are in the second position, and one game ahead of the Miami Marlins.

The Cubs will finish their season with six games on the road, facing the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers.

It's a tough stretch of games to finish out the year, especially considering how razor thin the margin for being in or out of the playoffs is right now.

That's why Chicago needs their ace Justin Steele to deliver a Cy Young type of performance on the mound against the Braves Tuesday night.

Once a frontrunner for the award, two bad starts over his last two games have stunted his chances of winning that prestigious honor. More importantly for the ballclub, it also put them at risk of missing the playoffs.

After having one of the lowest ERA's in the league with a 2.49, Steele gave up six earned runs in back-to-back starts against the Diamondbacks and Pittsburgh Pirates.

The left hander now has a chance to deliver for the Cubs like he has been doing all season. He has the opportunity to ensure Chicago gets off to a good start in this series and continues to keep themselves in the playoff picture.

In Steele's lone start against Atlanta this season, he went 5 1/3 innings, giving up three earned runs on eight hits and striking out seven batters.

He'll need to take his game to the next level in this one as he's facing the best offense in the sport, who crushes opposing pitching at home.

Steele has performed at a level this season that put him into the Cy Young conversation.

He has to be that pitcher for the Cubs tonight.