Cubs' Cade Horton dominates again in win despite scoreless streak's end at 28 1/3 innings

New York Times

2 days ago

TORONTO — For five innings, Cade Horton was nearly perfect. The rookie had allowed just one walk and no hits against a Toronto Blue Jays offense that's arguably the best in baseball. After losing his no-hitter with one out in the sixth, Horton eventually exited with two outs in the frame. He finished the day with a career-high eight strikeouts to just two walks while allowing just one hit and one run in the Chicago Cubs' 4-1 victory.
Advertisement
'This is the hardest team to strike out in baseball,' manager Craig Counsell said. 'What he did to a very good lineup was just a continuation of what we've seen this past month. He was awesome. We've had some superlatives with him on each start, and this was maybe the best one.'
The Blue Jays have the lowest strikeout rate in baseball at 17.4 percent, and only two teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, have a better mark than their 113 wRC+. Horton didn't allow a run in his first five innings of work Wednesday, extending his scoreless streak to an impressive 28 1/3 innings, tied for best by any starter this season and the second-best mark for a Cubs rookie all time.
'I just felt like I had good feel for all my pitches tonight,' Horton said. 'I felt calm, slowed the heart rate down and was in control. Just focused on executing pitches.'
After a single, then a two-out walk in the sixth, Horton exited. A subsequent double by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. off reliever Andrew Kittredge would snap Horton's scoreless streak, but that couldn't spoil what was just another brilliant performance by the Cubs standout rookie.
Horton has been on an impressive run as of late, helping keep the Cubs afloat as the offense struggles to find its form. After a blowup outing in Houston when he allowed seven runs in four innings of work, Horton has delivered a 1.13 ERA in seven starts, only failing to complete five innings in one of those outings.
Just 15 starts into his career, Horton is starting to look like what the Cubs hoped they would someday get when they drafted him seventh in summer 2022.
'It's kind of a unique fastball profile to where one kind of goes this way, one kind of goes that way,' Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. 'So keeps hitters kind of in between a little bit. And then, you know, you get two breaking balls and a changeup to go with it. There's some pitch ability there, too.'
Advertisement
Before the game, Counsell pointed out how Horton had seen his strikeout rate dip compared with the minors but had counteracted that and found success by raising his groundball rate. Wednesday, the strikeout stuff showed up. Horton was able to get 11 whiffs in total, four on his sweeper and three each on the four-seamer and changeup.
'I thought the stuff was just electric,' Counsell said. 'That's the beauty of being in the zone a lot, you get hitters in swing mode, too. When the stuff is so good in the zone, they're not going to lay off. That's when you get the strike-to-ball stuff, which he did really well, too. He's pitching at a really high level right now.'
Horton said he'd learned from his early outings in the league. He was pounding the zone but was over the heart of the plate too often. He's now adjusted and made sure to move his pitches around the zone, commanding his pitches well enough to work the edges rather than giving teams pitches they can drive.
Is he surprised at all by his recent success?
'Not really,' Horton said. 'I feel like each start is different. There's different things I need to work on next week. Just continue building. I feel like I'm never going to be satisfied. Just keep finding ways to get better and help this team win.'
Spot the pattern. Connect the terms
Find the hidden link between sports terms
Play today's puzzle