Justin Steele, the Cubs are rising to the occasion in a Playoff environment.

In a clinching series between a pair of rivals vying for the division’s prized crown, the Baseball Gods delivered a must-see game Tuesday night at Wrigley Field.

“There are two good horses going into it,” head coach David Ross said before the game. “Two No. 1’s in my opinion this year. And I’ve had them come out and play in the division, shoot, that’s what we have in common. That’s what you hope for in spring training.”

“It’s exciting for me to get to September and take part in this kind of race. It’s fun.”

Oh boy, does it live up to the billing.

All-Stars Justin Steele and Corbin Burns matched each other for most of the night, but 1^streetA strikeout from Cody Bellinger proved to be the difference in one of the best pitching duels of the year as the Cubs snapped the Brewers’ 9-game winning streak by a score of 1-0. The Cubs moved to 4 games behind Milwaukee in the NL Central.

“Y“Yeah, you always want more running, but I think this is a great environment against a top-placed team,” Ross said after the game. “It looked like a playoff. That’s good for us.”

Steele threw 111 pitches on his way to 6 innings stops in which he struck out 8 and allowed 6 hits and a walk. Burns was equally great, hitting 7 on 7 frames off the one-run ball with 8 strikeouts and 2 walks to his ledger.

“loved it. I loved promoting in that environment. Wrigley, the fans here are doing a really special job of knowing the situation. “They know what’s at stake, and they know when to get back on their feet,” Steele said. “These are things you don’t really see anywhere else and it’s really special to put on a show for these fans. I loved it. It was a really fun environment to be involved in.

But as Steele seemed to have escaped every roadblock the Brewers had erected in his path, it was a first for Burns^street inning that he and the Brewers did.

After Steele got away from the second and third jams, he was out 1 at the top of the 1^streetBellinger’s hit to second base covering Nico Horner was the only run that would separate the two great pitchers.

For the Cubs, Tuesday night was all about bending, but never breaking.

Nothing sums it up more than 2^{Abbreviation II} inning. With one out, Victor Caratini reached for a single that hit Steele square in the leg, just above the knee. Ross and a coach came to check on him.

““I don’t know if anyone has ever had a fall at school, like somebody put their knee in your leg and you limp for a minute, that’s what it felt like when you put some weight on it in the beginning,” Steele said. . “I just needed to get some blood flowing in there. It was good.”

The next batter, Bryce Turang, singled out the middle. Steele ducked and Tyrone pushed Taylor into a double play at the end of the inning.

“I know how tough he is, but I wouldn’t take him out unless he wanted me to take him out,” Ross said. “It looked like a lot of meat in there and once we confirmed that I know where his heart is and who he is to the core, but yeah I wasn’t too worried.”

In the next inning, Steele stopped another Brewers shot by striking out Willie Adams and Andrew Monasterio to cut shorts on runners on first and second. Steele retired 11 of the last 12 batters he faced before turning it over to the Cubs’ three leveraged relievers, who were well relieved to maintain the lead.

“I thought it became more efficient. “I thought he had to work hard early on,” Ross said of Steele.

Mark Leiter Jr. made a perfect score of 7^y Inning, Karateni crossed out.

at 8^y In the first inning, Christian Yelich drove the frame against Julian Meriwether with a hit single to third base. Jan Gomez caught Yelich trying to pass for second, a perfect throw and a mark from Horner that killed the Brewers’ rally.

This left 9^y inning to Cubs closer Adbert Alzolay. Alzolay walked off the Cubs’ playing field with BYOR’s “Belly Dancer” and Imanbek blaring through the speakers and bringing the crowd of 33,294 to their feet.

Fans were roaming every pitch, creating an October-like atmosphere at the Friendly Frontiers.

“I had PitchCom in my hat (that) hit 20 at maximum volume and never went over 18, but I was at 20 in the last inning just to be able to hear the pitch we were going to throw,” Horner said. “It was great. It’s amazing here.”

Zulay did what he did when he got close—closed the door and sealed the Cubs’ win.

““We made some mistakes too, but going out before that game is a moment of growth and it proves we can play for some of the best teams in the league,” Ross said. “I think we know that, but in this environment, it was fun.”

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