It was a familiar sight for Cubs fans: first baseman Anthony Rizzo getting the final putout. But this time, it clinched a victory for the Yankees, who beat the Cubs 3-0 in Rizzo’s return to Wrigley Field on Friday.
The Cubs mustered only one hit — Cody Bellinger’s double in the fourth inning — and struck out 11 times.
“It was the first time most of us, if not all of us, had seen [Yankees starter Luis Gil],” left fielder Ian Happ said. “He did a good job. His fastball was good, and his command was good. Then their bullpen guys shut us down.”
The Cubs, whose offense has been inconsistent, were shut out for the 14th time, tied for the second-most in the majors.
“Gil threw the ball well, but we’ve got to do a better job,” manager Craig Counsell said. “No leadoff hitters on, no multiple men on base in an inning . . . that’s a tough formula to score. You’ve got to create rallies in situations like that, and we couldn’t get anything going.”
Left-hander Jordan Wicks went five innings, allowed three runs and five hits, walked four and struck out four.
He gave up a leadoff walk and consecutive hits to Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Austin Wells in the third inning. Wicks (2-3, 4.03 ERA) said his velocity felt good, but he lacked the command he had Sunday against the Nationals.
Steele’s recovery
The Cubs are in wait-and-see mode with left-hander Justin Steele after putting him on the 15-day injured list with tendinitis in his pitching elbow.
Counsell said the team feels good about the results of the MRI exam, and the goal is to get him symptom-free and playing catch. There haven’t been any talks about shutting Steele down for the season.
“The thought right now is that he’ll come back,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. “Of course, we’ll audible if there’s any reason.
‘‘If there’s a setback or a slowness of healing, then I think [shutting Steele down] would be on the table. But I don’t think that’s worth thinking about now.”
Steele has been arguably the Cubs’ best pitcher, following up his 2023 All-Star season by going 5-5 with a 3.09 ERA in 22 starts.
At 72-69, the Cubs are still in the hunt for a postseason berth, but their playoff odds are bleak. FanGraphs gave them a 2.0% chance entering Friday.
Dealing with injuries — Steele’s and reliever Jorge Lopez’s strained right groin — is another problem the Cubs must navigate. But they put themselves in this difficult position by going 21-34 in May and June.
“No one’s going to feel bad for us,” Hoyer said. “We just have to figure that part out. It’ll force us to push some guys into roles that were probably bigger than they expected, and I think that’s probably good from a development standpoint.
“But that’s just the nature of the game. We have to put guys in different roles and adjust.”