For me, the Cubs’ 5-1 loss to the Braves came down to one questionable decision.
Not the one you’re thinking of, incidentally. No, not the decision to remove Cade Horton after five no-hit innings. Given Horton’s history and that he’s thrown more innings this year than at any time in his professional career, that was absolutely the right call.
The decision I’m talking about is the one to leave Ben Brown in the game in the seventh inning after he’d thrown a very shaky 24-pitch sixth. Sure, he struck
out the side (and issued a walk), but his command and control seemed off, and it showed when he allowed a hit, a hard-hit out and a walk in the seventh. Then Drew Pomeranz, who doesn’t have to deal with traffic on the bases too often, entered and served up a three-run homer to Ha-Seong Kim, and that was that.
Beyond that, the Cubs offense again vanished after taking an early lead. The Cubs had just two baserunners from the second through the eighth inning. You’re not going to win many games doing that sort of thing.
Let’s take a look at the early innings of this game. At least those went (reasonably) well.
The Cubs took a 1-0 lead in the second. Ian Happ led off with a bloop hit to left and turned toward second. Braves left fielder Eli White made a bad throw and the ball went into the first-base dugout. Happ was placed on third [VIDEO].
Two outs later, Willi Castro singled in Happ [VIDEO].
In the third, Reese McGuire led off with a single and advanced to third on two infield outs, but was stranded. The Cubs would have just one more baserunner (a one-out single by Matt Shaw in the fifth, and he was caught stealing) until the ninth.
Meanwhile, Horton was dealing. He struck out six over his five no-hit innings, and got some help from his defense, specifically, this great grab of a line drive by Dansby Swanson in the fourth [VIDEO].
Here are Horton’s six K’s [VIDEO].
And here’s more on Horton’s outing [VIDEO].
Cade Horton is showing the talent that made him the Cubs’ No. 1 pick in 2022 — even though he was coming off Tommy John surgery at the time. He very well could be the National League Rookie of the Year. And yes, someday he could throw a no-hitter, or be part of a combined no-no. Wednesday night was not the time for that.
More on Horton’s outing from BCB’s JohnW53:
Cade Horton is just the ninth Cubs starter since 1901 to leave a game after pitching exactly five hitless innings. The previous one was Jon Lester, on July 27, 2020, at Cincinnati. The Cubs wound up winning that game, 8-7.
The only other one this century was Matt Clement, on Sept. 10, 2003, at Montreal. He gave up three unearned runs, as he walked five, and the Cubs eventually lost, 8-4.
The others:
Lon Warneke, 1943, at Philadelphia (Cubs lost, 4-3)
Bob Schultz, 1951, at St. Louis (Cubs won, 10-5)
Howie Pollet, 1953, at Cincinnati (Cubs lost, 7-4)
Don Elston, 1960, at home vs. Giants (Game ended in 1-1 tie after 14 innings)
Ray Newman, 1971, at home vs. Expos (Cubs won, 8-4)
Bill Caudill, 1980, at Pittsburgh (Cubs lost, 5-4, in 20 innings!)
Then came the disastrous inning from Pomeranz discussed above, and Ozzie Albies, who homered Tuesday, added a fifth run for the Braves with a solo shot off Taylor Rogers in the eighth.
The Cubs had a rally, of sorts, in the ninth. With two out, Seiya Suzuki and Happ drew walks off Braves closer Raisel Iglesias. Carlos Santana was the next hitter, and, well, could he be a hero in his second game for his new team?
Nope, he was called out on strikes to end the game.
Here are Craig Counsell’s postgame comments [VIDEO].
A sweep would have been nice. Two of three was fine. If the Cubs win two of every three from here till the end of the season, they’ll wind up with 94 or 95 wins, which should be plenty for the first wild-card spot. The Cubs lost a game in the standings to the Brewers in the NL Central as Milwaukee defeated Philadelphia, and now trail by six games. Still not impossible, but getting more difficult. The Cubs’ magic number to clinch a postseason spot remains at 14, since the Giants won and the Reds lost. The Giants moved ahead of the Reds in the race, though trail the Cubs by nine games and are four games out of the last wild-card spot. The Cubs’ magic number to clinch the top wild-card spot is now 19 after the Padres were swept at home in a three-game series by the Orioles. (See? The Cubs aren’t the only playoff contender losing games they seem to figure to win.)
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The Cubs have Thursday off and then will host the Washington Nationals in a three-game series beginning Friday afternoon. Javier Assad will start the series opener and Jake Irvin will go for the Nats. Game time Friday is 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Apple TV+ (how to watch).
