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PHOENIX – Cubs left-hander Justin Steele trimmed his hair between his starts in the Tokyo Series and the domestic season opener.
The long-haired scraggly-bearded version of him had given up a pair of home runs to the Dodgers in his first start of the season. Maybe a bit of a change would do him good Thursday against the Diamondbacks.
Steele is entering his fourth season as a permanent member of the Cubs rotation. And after putting himself in the Cy Young conversation in 2023 and proving that his success wasn’t a flash in the pan with a consistent performance last year, Steele has the opportunity this year to establish himself as a top year-in, year-out performer in the league.