After Cubs left-hander Justin Steele allowed one hit and struck out nine in five shutout innings Saturday against the Diamondbacks, you couldn’t blame manager David Ross for turning the game over to his bullpen with a four-run lead — the Cubs came in leading the National League in bullpen ERA (3.10), with virtually every key reliever on a roll.
But after Chris Martin got four consecutive outs to get into the seventh, a rare succession of bullpen failures turned Steele’s second consecutive fine start to dust in a 7-6 loss in 10 innings at Wrigley Field.
Brandon Hughes, Scott Effross, David Robertson and Rowan Wick (1-1) allowed a combined seven runs as the Cubs (15-24) frittered away an early 4-0 lead to lose their fourth consecutive game.