Chicago Cubs fans glum as pitcher Justin Steele pulled from start with forearm tightness: "He can have my arm" "Two words that precede Tommy John"

The Chicago Cubs lost out on a chance at sweeping the best team in baseball Wednesday in a 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. What's worse, the Cubs may be losing one of their best starters this season for the long term.

Justin Steele, a lefty who had thrown three perfect innings at the Rays, was pulled from his start due to left forearm tightness. The diagnosis is often the first step on the slippery slope to Tommy John surgery for many pitchers.

Steele, in his third season with the Chicago Cubs, was in the midst of a breakout campaign. Through his first 11 starts, he was 6-2 with a 2.77 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, and 57 strikeouts in 65 innings.

For his career, he is 14-13 with a 3.32 ERA in 55 games (44 starts).

Chicago Cubs manager David Ross talked about Steele during his postgame news conference:

"I got word that he had a little bit of throbbing in the elbow. He didn't feel it while throwing, just as he was cooling down. ... The more I watched him throw, the more nervous I got. ... So, just went ahead and for precuatiounary reasons pulled him."

Ross said that Steele will undergo an MRI on his left forearm on Thursday. Hayden Wesneski, recently recalled from Triple-A Iowa, took over for Steele and pitched the Cubs into the seventh inning before reliever Mark Leiter took over.

The Rays teed off on Leiter for a pair of home runs and took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning. While the Cubs put multiple runners into scoring position over their final two turns at the plate, the hosts could not push across the game-tying rally as Tampa Bay left Wrigley Field with one win in three games.

Chicago Cubs drop to NL Central basement with loss

Justin Steele of the Chicago Cubs pitches during the third inning of a game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The loss dropped the Cubs into last place in the NL Central with a 24-31 record, just percentage points behind the St. Louis Cardinals. Chicago is still just 4.5 games off the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers, who sport just a 28-26 mark.