Game Recap: Horton makes history as Cubs salvage series finale against Reds |
Dustin Riese
· · 5 hours ago
CHICAGO - When the Chicago Cubs (66-48) drafted Cade Horton No. 7 overall in the 2022 MLB draft, the vision was for him to become the future ace of their staff. After several injury-riddled campaigns to begin his career, Horton is finally healthy this season and is starting to show why the Cubs are so high on the right-hander.
In his most recent start against the Cincinnati Reds (60-55) at Wrigley Field on Wednesday, Horton not only continued his strong run of starts, but made some team history in the process. After striking out six and allowing just two hits in 5 2/3 shutout frames, Horton surpassed Kerry Wood to set a franchise record of 23 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings by a rookie as the Cubs managed to salvage their series finale with the Reds 6-1. For Horton, this was the first time all season where you could see Ace caliber stuff as he threw just 67 pitches in his outing and only 11 balls. That comes out to an 83.1% strike percentage, which is the highest strike percentage from any starting pitcher this season. He is now 6-3 with a 3.18 ERA for the year. Given how much the Cubs' offense has struggled this season, they needed that kind of start from him as left-hander Andrew Abbott was on the mound for the Reds. Entering the game with an ERA barely above 2.10 and knowing the Cubs' issues against left-handed pitching, you had to think a potential sweep was coming, especially when Abbott pitched into the seventh. The key in this was the Cubs' ability to make contact and fight off several tough pitches as Abbott was charged with four runs on seven hits in 6 2/3, walking two and striking out three. Neither team was able to get much of anything going in the early innings, but once again, the Cubs put a pair of runners on base in the first only to come away empty. That has been a theme over the past few weeks, and if that doesn't get fixed soon, this team is dead come the postseason. Despite his struggles since the all-star break, Seiya Suzuki had a massive day at the plate as he made contact in his first three plate appearances, with all exit velocities sitting at 105 MPH and above. His first at bat resulted in a single, while his second at bat saw TJ Friedl take what looked to be extra bases away from him, resulting in a go-ahead sacrifice fly that had the Cubs in front 1-0 through three. After failing to generate much excitement in the first three innings, a two-out Austin Hays double in the top of the fourth had the Reds in business, but it was Horton locking in to get the job done and keeping them off the board. Horton would allow just one more hit the rest of the way, and that came in his final inning of work as he continues to impress on the mound. Still holding their narrow 1-0 lead in the sixth, it was that man Suzuki coming through once again as he turned on an Abbott breaking ball and launched it into the left field seats to make this a 2-0 Cubs lead. Given his struggles at the plate, he needed this kind of game, and hopefully, this is a sign for what is to come down the stretch. His homer not only put a jolt of life into the fans, but it was the awakening this offense has desperately been looking for as they went on to score five runs over the next three innings to take a commanding lead. One night after allowing four runs to give the Reds a win, Andrew Kittredge was back on to pitch the seventh and promptly went out to strikeout the side on nine pitches as he tossed the 120th immaculate inning since tracking that start became a thing. Coming out to pitch a seventh inning for the Reds, you started to see the fatigue setting in as a leadoff homer from Dansby Swanson pushed the Cubs' lead to 3-0. Abbott came close to keeping the Cubs there until a two-out double from Justin Turner kept the inning alive, only to have Suzuki work a walk to put a pair of runners on base. That set the stage for Carson Kelly, who delivered an RBI single off Luis Mey, extending the Cubs' lead to 4-0. The long ball continued to play a massive role for the Cubs in the eighth as Ian Happ unloaded for the Cubs' third solo shot of the afternoon and pushed their lead to 5-0. Ian Happ - Chicago Cubs (16) Given how much this team relies on the homer, when the Cubs homer at least once in a game, they rank near the top of the majors in winning percentage and are now 52-24 in such games. Chicago wasn't quite done offensively as a two-out single from Matt Shaw kept things alive as he wound up reaching second base on a wild pitch. That proved to costly in the end with Nico Hoerner tacking on another RBI hit as Mr. RISP himself closed out the scoring for the Cubs, 6-0. Entering the game in a non-save situation was Daniel Palencia, who hasn't looked great in recent outings. If the Cubs have any hopes of making a deep playoff run, Palencia needs to be their guy in the late innings, and once again, he had a rough go of things as a pair of singles from Friedl and Elly De La Cruz put a pair of runners on base before they advanced 90 feet on a wild pitch. That alone gifted the Reds their only run as the Hays grounder put an end to the shutout, as Palenica has now allowed a run in back-to-back appearances for the first time this season. He did manage to retire the final two hitters he faced, striking out two as the Cubs took the series finale versus the Reds 6-1. With 11 hits, the Cubs had more hits today than in their previous three games combined, and that has to change. Four players had multiple hits for Chicago as Hoerner, Suzuki, Kelly, and Turner all had two-hit games for the Cubs. Chicago will get the day off tomorrow before traveling to the Gateway to the West to open up a three-game set with the St. Louis Cardinals this weekend.
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