A difficult day that saw the Cubs squander a golden opportunity in their hopes of playing October baseball was deepened when their ace was scratched with an injury.

Justin Steele will not start Tuesday’s game against the Pirates, manager Craig Counsell announced after the Cubs’ 5-3 loss to the Pirates. Instead, veteran Kyle Hendricks will get the ball as the Cubs look to keep their playoff hopes alive.

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“He’s experiencing some elbow soreness, so we’re going to scratch him,” Counsell said after the game.

It’s a significant blow to the Cubs, who know the importance of what someone like Steele provides to the team.

“I think he’s a guy we all look to when it’s his day and you see Steele on the mound, you know you’re going to get a good effort and you’re going to be in the game,” Jameson Taillon said. “So yeah, it stinks, but, I agree, from everything I’ve heard, we’re hoping it’s just a quick thing.

“He means a lot to this group. That being said, we just got [Jordan] Wicks back, which is awesome, and we’ll just continue to keep going and step up.”

Steele missed time last year with a left forearm strain but missed just the minimum 15-day stint. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017 and returned in 2018.

Hendricks had the shortest start of his career last week when he faced the Pirates. He allowed 6 runs on 8 hits in 1.2 innings before the Cubs mounted a ferocious rally to beat Pittsburgh, 14-10. He has a 6.75 ERA this season in 24 games.

The Cubs had shifted Hendricks back into the bullpen — Counsell said prior to Monday’s game that Hendricks was “available today in the bullpen and so he’ll be available today and we’ll go from there.”

He’s going back into the rotation as the Cubs look to keep up their playoff push. They blew a 3-run, 8th-inning lead on Monday to fall 3.5 games back of Atlanta for the final NL Wild Card spot. They can’t afford many more hiccups like Monday if they hope to be playing in October and — at least for Tuesday — will have to rely on Hendricks to keep those dreams alive.