Cubs get another solid outing from a young pitcher — this time Adbert Alzolay — and sweep the Dodgers with a 6-5, 11-inning win
A fired-up Justin Steele screamed and pounded his mitt as he walked off the mound.
Chicago Cubs manager David Ross entrusted Steele to keep the game tied in extra innings Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The rookie left-hander entered the high-leverage spot needing to navigate around the runner who started the inning at second base. Steele, in his sixth big-league appearance, unfurled a curveball that Dodgers catcher Will Smith chased out of the zone for strike three.
Steele’s scoreless inning helped the Cubs secure a walk-off win in the bottom of the inning on David Bote’s single. Steele’s poise under those conditions against a talented Dodgers squad put a spotlight on the potential the Cubs see in their 2017 fifth-round pick.
“Something my mother always told me growing up was, ‘Whenever you get the butterflies, just make sure they fly in formation,’” Steele said Wednesday. “So that’s what I was trying to do out there. Obviously, it’s a high-intensity situation against the World Series champs, so controlling your emotions is very important in those situations.”
Steele, 25, is one of three younger pitchers the Cubs drafted who have gotten a look during the first five weeks of the season. Right-hander Adbert Alzolay, 26, who started Wednesday’s series finale against the Dodgers, is a bright spot in the rotation. Right-hander Keegan Thompson, 26, made his first big-league start in Game 2 of Tuesday’s doubleheader, tossing 3 2/3 scoreless innings to keep the Cubs in the game against reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer.
“In the past we’ve traded away some prospects,” said Thompson, a 2017 third-round selection. “I think our farm system might be a little underrated according to the numbers, but the guys have the heart and the will to perform with the best.”
Alzolay again flashed elite stuff during his five-inning start in Wednesday’s game, which the Cubs won 6-5 in 11 innings on Anthony Rizzo’s two-out single to complete a three-game sweep. Half of the 16 four-seam fastballs Alzolay threw resulted in a called strike or whiff. He recorded four of his seven strikeouts with his slider.
The Dodgers were hitless against Alzolay until Max Muncy’s two-out homer in the fourth. They tallied another run off him in the fifth, but he stranded a runner on third to keep it a one-run game.
For an organization that has struggled to develop homegrown arms, the trio represents a glimpse of the emerging talent.
“You could definitely look at it as a chip on the shoulder for us,” Steele said. “I’m not going to say we’ve been bashed, but people are definitely undervaluing us. Now we’re finally getting here to Chicago, and y’all are finally being able to see what we’ve been working on, what we’ve been doing.”
As the Cubs have turned to younger arms, their most veteran reliever has parted with the organization. Right-hander Pedro Strop has elected for free agency after taking personal leave from the Cubs. He had been at the alternate site in South Bend, Indiana, and would have been assigned to Triple-A Iowa, whose season started Tuesday.
Strop was beloved within the organization over his eight years in Chicago and leaves on good terms. The sides could reunite in some capacity in the future.
“It was nice to have him around. He just puts a smile on your face,” Ross said. “From the day I first met him coming over here in 2015, he’s a guy you walk into the locker room and he’s electric, man, like his personality lights up a room. He’s a fun guy to be around. He’s a very talented pitcher. I’m very thankful for a lot of things that Pedro’s brought into my life and our friendship.”
The desire to see what the Cubs have in up-and-coming pitchers such as Thompson and Steele played a role in the Strop move and the decision last week to designate veteran Brandon Workman for assignment only a month into the season. The Cubs can evaluate how Thompson and Steele might fit going forward.
Without a minor-league season last year, the alternate site became a valuable resource for select minor-leaguers to work on specific parts of their game and get at least some level of “game” competition with intrasquad action. Alzolay has referenced numerous times the impact the alternate site had on helping him develop his slider, which has become one of his nastiest pitches. Steele also credited his time there for the emergence of his slider.
“It’s been very effective, I love using it,” Steele said. “It’s a pitch that I’m comfortable throwing for strikes or for balls. I feel like it’s really helped me gain more feel for my curveball, doing what I want with it. I mean, hats off to developing sliders for the Cubs.”
Beyond the experience gained each time they take the mound, the insight gleaned from the veterans on the staff, particularly Kyle Hendricks and Jake Arrieta, can be invaluable. Arrieta sees the potential in the Cubs’ younger pitchers. He has become a mentor to Alzolay since working with him during spring training and has been impressed by his first big-league glimpses of Steele and Thompson.
“Those are three great arms that are going to be good for this organization for a long time,” Arrieta said. “Cubs fans should really be excited about these three arms that we’ve got with us right now.”
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