Steele (12-3) earned the win Tuesday, allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits and striking out six without walking a batter over six innings in a 20-9 win over Cincinnati.
Steele was the beneficiary of an offensive explosion Tuesday, as the Cubs put up 20 runs on Cincinnati. The 28-year-old lefty wasn't particularly sharp in this one, but he threw 73 of 101 pitches for strikes and did enough to earn his 12th victory, tying him for the major-league lead. Prior to this start, Steele hadn't allowed more than three earned runs in an outing since May 26, going 5-1 with a 2.01 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 43:8 K:BB across 44.2 innings during that stretch. He is projected to make his next start at home versus Atlanta.