Chicago Cubs pitching delivers good news amid bad news

Ace Justin Steele went down with an elbow injury in early April and won’t be back until some time in mid-2026 at the earliest. Projected fifth starter Javier Assad has been out of commission since spring training with an oblique issue and may or may not be able to contribute this season. Shota Imanaga missed about five weeks with a hamstring strain.

Porter Hodge also missed some time with injury and has generally under-performed this season. Ben Brown didn’t pan out as a viable rotation piece and has been sent to the minors. And now, the news broke that starter Jameson Taillon will be placed on the IL, likely to miss a key month of the season, with a right calf strain.

But it hasn’t been all doom and gloom for Cubs pitching– and Wednesday’s game highlighted that fact.

But, some good news

Starter Cade Horton had the best outing of his young career, pitching 7 scoreless innings and striking out 5 against 5 hits and 2 walks, generating a 50% ground ball rate. The gem for the rookie and top Cubs pitching prospect comes directly after, arguably, his worst outing on June 27 against the Houston Astros where he gave up 7 earned runs in 4 innings pitched.

Horton has a 4.15 ERA for the season, but Wednesday’s outing showcased his true potential and proved that he has the grit and resolve to come back from adversity. In a strained starting rotation, the 23-year-old coming into his own right now would be a godsend.

A fairy tale bullpen

On the bullpen side of things, surprise asset Drew Pomeranz pitched a scoreless two-thirds of an inning. The appearance is the righty’s 26th straight appearance without allowing an earned run and it was a bit of a history maker.

Per the Just Baseball social media account:

“Drew Pomeranz has now thrown 26 straight scoreless appearances to start the season.

That’s the longest such streak in MLB history by a player age 36 or older.”

Pomeranz was acquired in a trade with the Seattle Mariners, for “cash considerations,” in late April and hadn’t previously pitched in the majors since 2021.

The feel-good Pomeranz story syncs up with a Cubs bullpen tale that has so far been a surprising success story overall.

Comprised mostly of castoffs, reclamation projects, and previously unproven young pitchers, the Cubs relief corps has come together under the guidance of manager Craig Counsell and staff as, currently, one of the best bullpens in the league and, arguably, the absolute best in all of baseball since late April.

Some would argue that the bullpen, along with starter Matthew Boyd and random assorted high-end performances here and there, have kept the Cubs steady and postseason-viable.

With the July 31 trade deadline approaching and Chicago’s front office focused on pitching, reinforcements may be on the way for the strained Cubs staff. But this crew has already shown itself capable of resilience and sparks of magic.