Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Cade Horton left his start against the Milwaukee Brewers early on Monday with an apparent injury.
The Cubs have not released additional info as of this writing, but Bleacher Nation reports Horton is dealing with a blister.
Regardless of the reason for his quick exit, it seems to be just about the worst-case scenario for Chicago as it begins a day-night doubleheader in Chicago. The rookie has been lights-out since the All-Star break, throwing 28.1 innings over that time, before he took the mound Monday. He has given up just one run over those five starts on 11 hits and nine walks.
He lasted 2.2 innings on Monday, allowing a run on a Brice Turang homer, with four hits, a walk, and three strikeouts. Cubs manager Craig Counsell visited Horton on the mound twice in the early innings before ultimately pulling him. Horton had thrown seven consecutive pitches outside the strike zone before his exit.
Compare that to his stellar outing last week against the Toronto Blue Jays, when he struck out eight and allowed only one hit over 5.2 innings.
“This is the hardest team to strike out in baseball, and what he did to a very good lineup is just a continuation of what we’ve seen this past month,” Counsell said after the game, per Matt Betts of MLB.com. “He was awesome. We’ve had some superlatives with him each start, and this was maybe the best one.”
Horton is squarely in the NL Rookie of the Year mix, listed as the fourth-most-likely winner, per FanDuel Sportsbook. In 16 games (15 starts), he is 7-3 with a 3.07 ERA and 1.176 WHIP.
Though the Cubs trail the Brewers by 8.5 games in the NL Central, the team is in the driver's seat for the first Wild Card spot. At 70-53, they lead the San Diego Padres by a game and a half atop the Wild Card standings and have a 4.5-game cushion of playoff safety.
The Brewers now lead the Cubs 2-0 as of this writing.
