Did Justin Steele Cost Himself the Cy Young Award?

Friday night was the start of a big series for the Chicago Cubs. It was the beginning of a three-game slate against the Arizona Diamondbacks who are in the NL Wild Card chase.

Winning this series would give the Cubs some separation with about two weeks to play. Losing the series means it will be a tight race to the finish line.

With their Cy Young contending ace Justin Steele on the mound, Chicago had a good chance of winning the opener.

That did not happen.

The Cubs lost 6-4 with all six of the runs being scored off Steele.

It's a costly loss for many reasons.

Chicago is now only one-and-a-half games clear of the final Wild Card spot and with the Milwaukee Brewers holding a five-and-a-half game lead in the division, they likely only make the postseason through the Wild Card.

The loss also could be costly for Steele's Cy Young candidacy.

Six earned runs are the most that the lefty has allowed all season. His ERA is still second in the MLB with a 2.73, but San Diego Padres' pitcher Blake Snell holds the top spot with a 2.43.

The Cubs' ace came into this game as the frontrunner for the award according to voters.

Much of his candidacy had to do with his high number of wins and low ERA. But with him now holding the second place spot in both the wins and ERA categories, it will be much harder for voters to select him as their choice.

Out of the contenders, Steele has much fewer strikeouts and has worse advanced metrics than his competitors.

Wins and ERA were really what his candidacy rested on.

With those two categories faltering and limited starts remaining, his poor start against the Diamondbacks might have cost him the NL Cy Young award.