The Chicago Cubs were without Kyle Tucker and lost to the Atlanta Braves 5-1 on Wednesday.
At the start of the game, the Cubs were leading 1-0. Furthermore, starting pitcher Cade Horton had a no-hitter going.
That is, until he was pulled in the 5th inning by manager Craig Counsell. Reliever Ben Brown kept the no-hitter going in the sixth.
In the 7th, Ozzie Albies hit a single that broke the no-hitter. As a result, the Braves scored four runs and put up another in the 8th.
Afteward, Horton said he understood why Counsell pulled him out to protect him for the remainder of the season and potentially into the postseason, per ESPN.
“Honestly, it really has helped me a lot,” Horton said. “I think just knowing I'm kind of like at that 75-pitch limit, it almost makes me scale down the moment. It's like, all right, let's just go out there today and get 15 outs and do it as efficiently as possible.”
Later, Counsell credited Horton for his ability to get hitters out with a fastball and a hard-breaking ball.
“It's an attack mentality,” Counsell said. “It's fun to watch, and it's been a really, really impressive start to a major league career.”
Furthermore, he explained his strategy behind limiting Horton to 75 pitches in the game.
“It's what we're doing,” Counsell said. “Cade could have four or five regular-season starts left, and hopefully he's got another four or five more starts after that. That innings number could get pretty high, so we're going to make sure he is properly taken care of.”
As a result, Horton didn't take any umbrage at Counsell pulling him out in the midst of a no-hitter.
“Jokingly,” Horton said. “I know at the end of the day it's not going to happen.
“And that's all right. I'd much rather be healthy for the postseason than go out there for the sixth or seventh in early September.”
In the end, Horton pitched five innings, had six strikeouts, and one walk.
Cade Horton's solid debut season with the Cubs
In his first year with Chicago, Horton has put up really strong numbers. He is 9-4 with a 2.78 ERA with 87 strikeouts.
Since the All-Star break, Horton's performance has been practically dominant. In his last nine starts, he has pitched 47 innings and gave up only nine hits and four runs with an ERA of 0.77.
In mid August, Horton had a 29 scoreless inning streak going before Vladimir Guerrero Jr. broke it with an RBI double in the Cubs/Blue Jays game on Aug. 13.
Altogether, Horton is a strong contender for the NL Rookie of the Year honor.
