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Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

MLB Opening Day: Cubs’ Ace Injured in Loss to Rangers

Originally posted on The Forkball | By IW Moon | Last updated 3/30/24

Justin Steele, the Chicago Cubs‘ ace starting pitcher, injured his hamstring in the fifth inning of an exciting opening day game against the Texas Rangers in Arlington. He had been pitching quite effectively to that point, having only given up a single run on a sacrifice fly to Wyatt Langford, the Rangers’ rookie sensation.

The atmosphere in Arlington was buzzing as one might expect, given the Rangers just came off of their first ever World Series win. The fans were excited to see their powerhouse of a team on display for opening day, with new pieces to boot.

Nathan Eovaldi got the nod to pitch for the Rangers. When he first entered the league, he could conjure fire with his 100-mph fastball. As a 34-year-old, the veteran can still serve up some heat into the mid 90s. He doesn’t have a high strikeout rate, but is extremely effective, nonetheless.

The Rangers certainly have the weapons

Their pitching staff when healthy is the stuff of legends, boasting names like Jake DeGromm, and Max Scherzer. They’re both currently stabled on the injured list. When you add it in with their enormous ability to hit, the Rangers certainly have the weapons for another run.

Langford, the aforementioned premier fourth overall 2023 draft pick out of Florida was having his major league debut. The Trout-esque rookie had already managed his first RBI by way of sacrifice fly, which shot off the bat of an 82-mph off-speed pitch by Steele.

It was Leody Taveras who bunted, and Steele gave chase to it. He grimaced before he fell but managed to get the out at first with a toss before he went to the ground and immediately grabbed his hamstring. He was able to walk off the field on his own, though he had a bit of a hitch in his gait.

“We’re gonna miss him for a little bit”

“He’s pitching really, really well. Obviously, an important member of the team, and it looks like we’re gonna miss him for a little bit here.” Craig Counsell, the Cubs new manager and replacement for David Ross said when asked about the injured Cubs’ ace.

Julian Merryweather, who was an off-season acquisition, had come in to relieve the injured Steele. He’d put up good numbers in Toronto and the Cubs were obviously hoping that would carry over.

The rookie Langford’s next feat was to hustle for an infield single. They kept and labeled the ball that was his first ever hit, which may very well end up on his mantle.

The Cubs’ infielders wield multiple Gold Gloves and prevent disaster time after time. On a rare occasion, an error occurs. This was one of those occasions.

Nico Hoerner is one of the Gold Glove wielders and he still committed a throwing error on an attempted double play. Perhaps this is a side effect of his less than stellar spring training. Hoerner’s woes continued into the regular season as he went 0-2 on the day as well as grounded into a double play to go along with the error.

He is the best two-strike hitter in the league

The sixth inning was when Seiya Suzuki became no longer hitless on the season. His extraordinary spring training bled over as analysts predicted it would, and his first hit was a double. He seems to have found his comfort zone and he credits familiarity with the pitchers in the league. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s in peak physical condition.

Cody Bellinger was next up and quickly fell in the hole. He is the best two-strike hitter in the league and showed why. He got his first hit and first RBI double as well with a zinger down the first base line, driving in Suzuki.

The Cubs were up by a run when Yency Almonte, another recent acquisition, came in to pitch. He gave up a rocket shot home run on a slider sent to left field by way of Adolis Garcia. That tied the game again and really seemed to give the Rangers momentum.

There were multiple blown calls at the plate by the umpire, most of which seemed to go against the Cubs’ hitters. A momentarily important missed call went in their favor, though. It was a foul ball that was ruled a passed ball, allowing for Michael Bush to advance and score all the way from second base.

Heim got his justice

Jonah Heim had been arguing with the home plate umpire about his missed call to no avail. The problem was that he did this during the middle of the play, and it gifted the Cubs a run.

The Cubs newfound lead was short lived. Travis Jankowski cranked one out of the park when Adbert Alzolay came in for the save attempt in the ninth inning. This would tie the game once again, sending it to extra innings.

They loaded the bases and Christopher Morel was just a few feet from having hit a grand slam home run. Instead, it was a foul ball followed by an out.

The Rangers also loaded the bases in the bottom of the tenth. Heim got his justice by getting the walk off single for the win.

Steele, the Cubs’ ace, was injured on an awkward step, but it’s a huge step backward for their starting rotation. It was already a bit thin. Fans will be holding their breath in hopes that he isn’t parked for an extended period of time.

The two teams will meet again for a much anticipated second matchup on Saturday.

This article first appeared on The Forkball and was syndicated with permission.

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