Cubs rookie starting pitcher Cade Horton was credited with his third win of the season after his performance against the Nationals on Tuesday. The 23-year-old is 3-0 and now his overall numbers are better than you think after MLB made a scoring change from Horton’s start in D.C.
law nation sports: dallas cowboys: mccarthy's super bowl goal & earl thomas drama
The Cubs won the series opener against the Nationals, beating them 8-3. Horton tossed 5.1 innings and was originally charged with three earned runs. Two of those runs came in the second inning, when Daylen Lile bounced a grounder down the right-field line with a runner on first base. Horton retired the next three batters, but the damage was done as two runs came across to score on a ground ball and sac-fly hit by CJ Abrams and James Wood, respectively.
However, after a closer look MLB has now changed those earned runs to unearned runs for Horton. Instead of a Lile double, Cubs first baseman Michael Busch was charged with an error.
So, Horton comes out with a final line of: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. He’s now down to a 3.51 ERA in 25.2 innings through his first five games in the big leagues.
Horton made his debut on May 10, against the Mets. He entered the game in the second inning after Craig Counsell used Brad Keller as the opener. Horton allowed three earned runs in that outing, throwing 77 pitches in four innings. Since then, Horton has 21.2 innings pitched in four starts and has posted a 2.91 ERA.
Sure, we’ve seen some rough innings early in starts from Horton, but the rookie has shown the ability to quickly settle in and keep the Cubs within striking distance. Horton has not allowed more than three runs in any of his outings and the Cubs have responded, going 5-0 when Horton has pitched this season.
The strikeout numbers haven’t been as high as fans were expecting, but on the flip side Horton has done a great job of limiting walks. That was a concern after watching Horton struggle with his command early in 2025 at Triple-A. Yet, in the big leagues he has a 19/4 strikeout to walk ratio and three of those walks came in one start against the Marlins.
Could not have asked for more out of Horton, who was tasked to take over Shōta Imanaga’s spot in the starting rotation in May.
