Steele (0-3) took the loss Friday, giving up three runs on five hits and a walk over seven innings as the Cubs were downed 3-2 by the Reds. He struck out seven.
The southpaw pitched well in his second quality start of the season, generating 30 called or swinging strikes among his 90 pitches, but a lack of run support kept him out of the win column once again. Steele appears to be rounding into form after missing all of April with a hamstring strain, and over his last three starts he sports a 1.89 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 20:6 K:BB through 19 innings. He'll look for that first victory of 2024 in his next outing, which is scheduled to come on the road next week in Tampa Bay.