When Justin Steele was shut down for the season, the Cubs were forced to look to the bullpen to fill a gaping hole in their rotation.

Enter Colin Rea, who on Friday afternoon struck out five batters for a second consecutive start, allowing just one earned run off of five hits. Rea previously provided 5 1/3 innings of relief over three games this season before he got the call to replace Steele in the rotation.

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“I feel pretty good. I definitely would have liked to get a little deeper today,” Rea told reporters after Chicago’s wild 13-11 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. “Physically, I felt great — as a competitor I want to stay in there.”

Rea, who pitched a career-high 167 2/3 innings last season with the Brewers, is still building stamina after coming into his starting role on short notice.

“I thought Colin pitched wonderfully,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told media. “He was outstanding, pounded the strike zone. We got 14 outs from him – great effort,” Counsell continued.

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Rea exited the game in the fifth inning when it was still a quiet 2-1 contest, long before both teams’ offensive explosions led to 21 total runs in the seventh and eighth frames combined. He credited his other half of the battery in Carson Kelly in helping carry out a clean start.

“I just felt like (Kelly) was money back there today,” Rea told reporters. “We’re just really meshing well right now – executing our game plan and adjusting when we need to.”

Rea now holds a 1.32 ERA over 13 2/3 innings pitched this year, which is his second stint with the Cubs after spending the 2020 season on the North Side. Rea struggled upon his call-up back to the majors during that pandemic-shortened season, posting a 5.79 ERA in 14 innings pitched.

The 34-year-old bounced between Japan’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball and the Milwaukee Brewers before signing a 1-year, $5 million deal with the Cubs in January.

Now, Rea is another seasoned veteran arm in the Cubs rotation with a renewed confidence pitching at the top of his game. He relies heavily on his four-seam fastball and Rea said he felt satisfied with his performance with that pitch against a dangerous Diamondbacks lineup.

“I think it’s trusting in (my four-seam fastball) and having confidence in it – knowing that my delivery is in a good spot,” Rea said. “Fastball command and executing the fastball and then letting other pitches play off of it – that’s kind of what I’ve believed in my whole career.”