Chicago Cubs get a scare with star pitcher, show troubling signs of collapse

“We’ve had a couple guys sick,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters after Tuesday’s game. “The illness has caused (Horton) to be coughing a lot. That may be it. That’s what we feel like it probably is. We wanted to be extra careful during the start tonight, so we stopped it.

“We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. The next couple days will be important. He wanted to keep going tonight, and we said no.”

At the very least, a cough/illness-related back issue is much better news than a purely physical (muscle/bone/tendon) issue. The Cubs’ 2020 no. 1 draft pick was also pitching pretty well at the time of his removal. After giving up a solo home run on the second pitch of the game to Francisco Lindor and a follow up single to Juan Soto, he shut the Mets down the rest of the way.

“I felt really good, pitching-wise,” Horton told media. “I was hitting my spots and attacking guys. It was just in between innings that I started to get a little stiff. The breathing started to play a factor. Everything started to tighten up…In between innings, my breath started to bother me. I just wanted to get on top of it early while we have time, rather than keep going and potentially harm the next start.”

Cade Horton and the playoffs

In this particular case, Horton’s next start will be in the opening series of the playoffs, which The Cubs are still hoping to host at Wrigley Field.

When asked whether he’ll be ready for that important playoff outing, Horton didn’t hesitate with his response.

“For sure,” he said. “That’s why we made the move we did tonight…It sucks. Hate it, but it’s the right move.”

Chicago Cubs bullpen collapse

What also “sucks” is the way the Cubs crumbled shortly after Horton’s early exit, carrying a 6-1 lead into the top of the fifth before everything fell to pieces following a rare Dansby Swanson error at shortstop.

The other bad news behind the abbreviated Horton outing was the general unsteadiness of a bullpen that has frequently been a surprising saving grace of the team’s late season run.

Michael Soroka gave up three hits and walked one in 1.2 innings behind Horton. Taylor Rogers gave up two earned runs on two hits in one inning of relief. The usually superb Caleb Thielbar turned in a poor outing, also allowing two earned runs and two hits in one inning of relief.

All in all, the bullpen was asked to give six innings of relief on Tuesday and the Cubs had to use six pitchers to do so. None, other than Andrew Kittredge, left without being touched up a bit.

Horton, though, remains the primary concern for the team. Everyone will surely be monitoring his progress the following week.

In the big picture, the Cubs as a whole need to figure out a way to stop this late-season skid.