Chicago Cubs notebook: Cody Bellinger’s streak, Justin Steele update

DENVER — Apparently you can take Chicago Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger out of the National League West, but it seems you can’t take the NL West out of Bellinger.

With his fourth-inning solo home run off Colorado’s Kyle Freeland on Saturday night, Bellinger now has 22 RBI this season against teams in the NL West. The shot to right field also gave Bellinger 18 RBI in his last 19 games (including six multi-RBI games) dating back to August 24.

Bellinger, who played six seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers before signing a one-year deal with the Cubs before the 2023 season and reupping with the team prior to the start of this campaign, has also now hit safely in 10 of his 11 games since September 2 and has reached base safely in 29 of his last 33 games.

He also has nine RBI in his last five games (coming against the Dodgers and Rockies, a pair of NL West teams) and that’s a season-high for him during a five-game span.

That’s a lot of numbers, and all of that comes after an August when Bellinger slashed just .228/.286/.416 in 112 plate appearances. That came on the heels of a stint on the injured list with a fractured left middle finger after being hit by a pitch.

“What’s impressed me the most about him (Bellinger), and what I would like to emulate throughout my career, is just the fact that he’s dealt with a lot of injuries and he’s been pretty banged up this year, but he still brings that same energy to the clubhouse,” said Pete Crow-Armstrong, who also homered on Saturday.

“These guys just love being around him. He still finds his success, even in maybe a period of struggle that he hasn’t felt the best.”

Bellinger also just missed another home run in the sixth inning when Colorado center fielder Brenton Doyle caught his blast against the wall in dead center.

Justin Steele return incoming?

Justin Steele was adamant just before going on the injured list with left elbow tendinitis at the start of September that he would pitch again in 2024. According to manager Craig Counsell, it seems that Steele will indeed live up to his words.

After throwing a 40-pitch bullpen at Coors Field on Saturday, all signs point to the 29-year-old southpaw making his return to the rotation when the Cubs head back to Chicago after the completion of Sunday’s series finale in Colorado.

“Another good day today,” Counsell said. “Everything went well. He felt good. Threw all of his pitches. Got up and down, so very positive. We’ll check in tomorrow and make sure recovery goes well and then move forward from there.

“If he’s healthy, he’s going to pitch. That’s kind of the bottom line.”

Steele last pitched on August 27, finishing off a month that saw him post a 3-0 record with a 2.03 ERA and 33 strikeouts 26.2 innings across five starts.

Cubs rocked again late as playoff window shrinks

Chicago lost 6-5 on Saturday night to the Rockies, and perhaps it’s one of the more heartbreaking losses of the season.

Leading 5-3 in the bottom of the ninth, the Cubs needed just one more strike after Porter Hodge retired the first two batters with ease.

However, Hunter Goodman took two pitches then fouled another one off before earning a walk. Sam Hilliard then followed with a blast to right field that sent the contest into extra innings.

After a Doyle RBI single in the 10th, the loss dropped Chicago to 63-6 when entering the ninth inning with a lead this season.

It also pushed the Cubs to 75-73 on the year and shrunk the team’s chances of earning a Wild Card spot, down to a 0.1 percent chance to make the postseason according to FanGraphs.

“It’s baseball,” said Cubs starter Jameson Taillon, who allowed five hits and two runs over 6.0 innings of work. “Porter’s been one of the best relievers in all of baseball the last few months. You got to love the situation we were in and it just didn’t work out.”

“It’s 27 outs and you have to get 27 outs,” Counsell said. “We put ourselves in position for 26 and couldn’t get the last one.”