Horton leaves early, Cubs blow early lead in loss to Mets

The Cubs are essentially locked into a wild-card playoff series against the San Diego Padres, but plenty of variables remain unknown.

Such as, can the Cubs hang onto the top wild card spot and be the home team in the first-round? They did nothing to help their cause Tuesday, squandering an early 6-1 lead in a 9-7 loss to the New York Mets are Wrigley Field.

The Cubs have now lost five in a row, and their lead over the Padres slipped to 2 games, pending the late result in San Diego on Tuesday. The Padres would also win a tiebreaker against the Cubs.

Will outfielder Kyle Tucker be ready to return from calf soreness and if so, how effective will he be at the plate? Can Daniel Palencia return from a shoulder strain and take back his old job as closer?

And can they avoid any new injuries? That category also didn't turn out great, since starting pitcher Cade Horton left the mound after just 3 innings and 29 pitches. The Cubs announced it was a precaution because of Horton's back tightening up.

He'll have a week to rest before almost certainly starting Game 1 or 2 of the playoffs.

“I got sick last week in Cincinnati, was coughing a lot,” Horton said. “So felt a little discomfort in my rib area, back area. Made the right move, didn't want to push it. Sucks, hate it. But it's the right move. Just wanted to get on top of it early, while we have time, rather than keep going and potentially harm the next start.”

Horton retired the last nine batters he faced and needed just 7 pitches to retire the side in both the second and third innings.

“I felt really good pitching-wise,” he said. “I felt like I was hitting my spots, attacking guys. I really felt good. Just in between innings, started to get a little stiff, the breathing became a factor, everything started to tighten up.”

Horton gave up a home run to Francisco Lindor on the game's second pitch. But the Cubs offense answered quickly with a Carlos Santana 2-run double in the bottom of the first inning. Nico Hoerner's RBI single and a 2-run double by Ian Happ made it 5-1 after 2.

But the Mets scored 5 unearned runs in the fifth inning thanks to an error by Dansby Swanson. Pete Alonso barely missed a home run against Michael Soroka, then Brandon Nimmo did hit a 3-run blast off Taylor Rodgers to tie the score.

In the sixth, Seiya Suzuki's RBI single off Taylor's twin brother Tyler Rogers tied the score at 7-7. Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez sent a 2-run blast into the left field bleachers against Caleb Thielbar in the eighth.

Before the game, Tucker could be seen running in the outfield and to first base. The goal is to get some at-bats this week at designated hitter, and possibly some time in the outfield. Tucker last played on Sept. 2.

Speaking to reporters in the dugout, Tucker didn't exactly give his recovery glowing reviews.

“I feel a little bit better,” he said. “Whether that's just a couple extra days or whatever extra treatment I've been able to do. So feeling good. Obviously, there's probably a few more boxes I've got to check off before everyone's comfortable with me going out there. So just got to work through that the next couple days.”

While the Cubs were on the road last week, Tucker returned to his hometown of Tampa to work with some familiar physical therapists. As far as getting enough at-bats to feel ready for the playoffs, Tucker was unconcerned.

“I think I'll be all right,” he said. “For the most part, I think it's more of a mental thing. If I can stay mentally locked in, feel comfortable and get at least a few at-bats in there, I'll be fine.

“Hitting and throwing, for the most part, have felt relatively normal. It's really just the running aspect that's been bothering me. It's taking a little bit longer than I would like, but it's getting there.”

The other injured player to watch is reliever Palencia, who went on the injured list Sept. 8 with a right shoulder strain. He pitched an inning at Iowa on Saturday, and Counsell said Palencia will likely be activated Wednesday.

Tickets for potential Cubs home games in the wild-card series will go on sale Thursday at 10 a.m.