Cubs left-hander Justin Steele tested his left knee behind the mound as manager David Ross headed back to the dugout, satisfied that his ace felt good enough to stay in the game Tuesday.
Steele had just been hit in the leg by a line drive. But he was going to play through it, preserving the marquee pitching matchup in a consequential National League Central rivalry series.
‘‘Two good horses going at it; two No. 1s, in my opinion, this year,’’ Ross said before the Cubs’ 1-0 victory against the Brewers. ‘‘And you’ve got them going out and playing for the division. Shoot, this is what we sign up for.’’
The Cubs had Steele, their up-and-coming Cy Young Award candidate on the mound. And the division-leading Brewers were relying on right-hander Corbin Burnes, a three-time All-Star and the 2021 NL Cy Young winner who has helped fortify the team’s strong pitching reputation for several years.
Steele (15-3) edged out Burnes in the duel, thanks to a large dose of perseverance. He pitched six scoreless innings, and relievers Mark Leiter Jr., Julian Merryweather and Adbert Alzolay completed the shutout with an inning each.
The Brewers made Steele work in the first inning. He walked leadoff man Christian Yelich and worked into so many deep counts that he had thrown 29 pitches by the third out.
The Cubs’ offense rewarded Steele’s efforts by giving him a lead in the bottom of the inning.
Burnes hit Nico Hoerner with a pitch with one out, then yielded a double to Ian Happ that sent Hoerner to third. From there, he easily scored on Cody Bellinger’s grounder to second.
Steele came out in the second and worked quickly to strike out Joey Weimer on three pitches. Then his second pitch to Victor Caratini hung over the plate. Caratini struck the slider hard, sending the ball back toward Steele at 100.2 mph.
Steele tried to swing his glove in front of his left leg, but the ball struck him just above the knee. As soon as the play was over, a trainer ran out to check on Steele. The pair made their way back to the mound with Ross in tow.
‘‘I know how tough he is,’’ Ross said, ‘‘but I’m like, ‘I’m not taking him out unless he calls me to bring him out.’ ’’
Steele took a few practice throws off the mound and stayed in the game, never considering leaving.
From that point on, only two Brewers made it past first and none reached third.
‘‘The first inning or two, I just needed to change my sights,’’ Steele said. ‘‘Felt like my four-seam [fastball] was cutting a little bit more. So if I wanted to put it on the outside corner against a righty, I would need to start it where a lefty would be standing. . . . It ended up working perfectly.’’
The Cubs’ defensive highlights included a leaping catch into the ivy by left fielder Happ and a clutch throw by catcher Yan Gomes and tag by second baseman Hoerner to throw out Yelich attempting to steal second in the eighth.
Steele generated eight swings-and-misses with his slider and six more with his fastball. His velocity ticked down as his pitch count climbed, but he was still pitching with authority.
‘‘I felt like he just took control of that game,’’ Hoerner said. ‘‘And we obviously really needed him.’’
With two outs in the sixth, Weimer sent a long fly ball foul. Steele didn’t flinch. On a 1-2 count, he threw a heater up and out of the zone. Weimer swung hard and missed for strike three.
It was Steele’s last pitch of the night, his career-high 111th.
