Late arrival doesn’t rattle Horton, who wins MLB debut for Cubs
Compared to New York traffic, a pitching debut at Citi Field was smooth sailing for Cade Horton.
The Cubs top pitching prospect tossed 4 innings, gave up a 3-run homer, but earned the victory as the Cubs held on to beat the New York Mets 6-5 on Saturday.
Asked about his strongest memory, Horton, 23, told reporters it was the team bus getting stuck in traffic on the way to Queens.
“The bus getting stuck in traffic, I won't forget that,” Horton said after the game. “My gosh, I'm showing up an hour late almost. So I won't forget that.
“The atmosphere, being on Fox, that was super cool. My family being here. That first plate appearance, getting the first strikeout, that was really cool.”
During his four innings on the mound, Horton allowed 4 hits and 3 runs, struck out five, didn't walk anyone, but hit a batter.
“I thought he did a nice job,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “Obviously, the 3-run homer's a big play in the game. But he threw a ton of strikes. I think he learned that his stuff definitely works here, plays here.”
The Cubs used Brad Keller as an opener, which spared Horton from having to start his MLB career by facing Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso. Even better, the Cubs scored twice in the top of the first, before Keller retired the side in order.
Horton started the second inning with a strikeout of Brandon Nimmo, followed by a flyout and strikeout. He dealt with some traffic in the third inning by hitting Francisco Alvarez before Tyrone Taylor reached on catcher's interference. But Horton retired Lindor and Soto to end the inning with no damage.
Horton said on the inning-ending groundout by Soto he threw a changeup for the only time all night.
“I think that pitch is overlooked,” Horton said. “I hadn't thrown it all day, and that's the exact reason I wanted to use it there is because I knew he probably wasn't expecting a changeup there. I throw it so little on the scouting report, and he'd already seen a lot of breaking stuff.”
Horton stuck with the fastball and sweeper on 93% of his pitches, with the four-seam averaging 95.3 mph. He did not use the sinker, a pitch he added this year.
With a 4-0 lead in the fourth inning, Horton gave up singles to Alonso and Mark Vientos before Brett Baty launched a two-out 3-run homer. Baty came into this series batting .190 with 1 home run on the season but has hit 3 homers in two nights against the Cubs.
Since the Cubs used Keller as an opener, Horton was credited with the win. Had he thrown 4 innings as the starting pitcher, he wouldn't have been eligible for the win.
Horton, a native of Norman, Okla., said he had about 18 friends and family at the game, including his wife, parents and grandparents.
“It was really cool,” he said. “I think I just wanted to take it easy, slow the game down, and just focus on making pitches. Looking back now, that third deck looked high up there, but (focused on) just settling in and finding the target.”
Dansby Swanson hit a solo homer, while catcher Miguel Amaya had a clutch 2-run single in the eighth inning to put the Cubs ahead 6-5. That was important, since Baty homered again, off Julian Merryweather, to make it 6-5 in the bottom of the inning.
Ian Happ was scratched with oblique soreness. Counsell said Happ felt it during his first at-bat Friday but finished the game and at this point, there's no talk of going on the injured list.
Happ's absence meant former Mets draft pick Pete Crow-Armstrong batted leadoff for the first time this season and Seiya Suzuki started in left field for just the second time since joining the Cubs.