A premier pitching matchup is set for Tuesday when young right-handers Paul Skenes of the host Pittsburgh Pirates and Cade Horton of the Chicago Cubs duel in the second game of the three-game series.
Skenes, 23, was the National League Rookie of the Year last season after going 11-3 in 23 starts with a 1.96 ERA.
Horton, 24, is a strong candidate to win the award this season, as he owns a 10-4 record and a 2.70 ERA through 21 appearances, including 20 starts.
“It’s a really special opportunity to be in the chase,” Horton said. “So, yeah, just stacking good days, and keep playing ballgames.”
Horton didn’t make the Opening Day roster for Chicago. Instead, he was recalled from Triple-A Iowa on May 10 and won his first two outings.
“Impacting a major league club has been really fun and special,” Horton said. “Those guys are great competitors. I love playing with them and having them behind me. They make a lot of plays for me, so just being able to go to work with them every day has been really fun, and just seeing all their hard work come to fruition has been really cool.”
Horton has been exceptional following the All-Star break, when he had a 4.45 ERA. Six times since then he has thrown at least five scoreless innings, including on Sept. 3, when he threw five no-hit innings against the Atlanta Braves before departing after 75 pitches in a game the Cubs eventually lost 5-1.
As a first-year pitcher for the NL wild-card leading Cubs (86-64), Horton is aware of his limitations.
“Just knowing, I’m kind of like, at that 75-pitch limit, it almost makes me scale down the moment,” he said. “It’s like, all right, let’s just go out there today and get 15 outs and do it as efficiently as possible.”
Horton and Skenes (10-9, 1.92 ERA) went head-to-head on June 13 in Chicago and neither gave up a run in a 2-1, 10-inning Pirates win.
Horton blanked Pittsburgh (65-86) on three hits over 5 2/3 innings, and Skenes fired five shutout innings.
Skenes, who will look to help the Pirates even the three-game set, also has produced six starts since the All-Star break in which he blanked the opponent for at least five innings — including his past two outings.
He threw six shutout innings in a 5-3 home win against Los Angeles Dodgers on Sept. 4, and another five scoreless on Wednesday in a no-decision against the host Baltimore Orioles.
Skenes struck out eight in his most recent performance, giving him 203 on the season — second in the NL.
“Punching out hitters is one of the reasons that we pitch,” Skenes said. “Always good to get strikeouts. Two hundred is cool, I guess, but hopefully not going to stop there.”
Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly lauded Skenes’ consistency over his first two seasons.
“To be able to rack up strikeouts like that, that’s something that’s at an elite level,” Kelly said. “He’s going to be able to do it for a long time.”
Horton will attempt to emulate the outing turned in Monday by teammate Jameson Taillon, who fired six shutout innings in Chicago’s 4-0 win. Michael Soroka, fresh off the injured list, followed with two hitless innings before Porter Hodge and Brad Keller (second save) navigated the ninth.
Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong homered as the Cubs won for the fifth time in six games. Pittsburgh took its ninth loss in 10 games.
–Field Level Media
