A week ago, it was Ben Brown stepping up against the best pitcher in the American League.
On Friday, another young Cubs starter got to test his mettle against the best pitcher in the National League.
The Cubs have seen plenty of Pirates ace Paul Skenes to know he’s a tough nut to crack. In fact, the Cy Young candidate has faced the Cubs more than any other team in his career.
But in a performance reminiscent of Brown’s seven innings of two-run ball against Tarik Skubal and the Tigers, rookie Cade Horton turned in 5 2/3 scoreless innings against Skenes and the Pirates, allowing only three hits in the Cubs’ 2-1, 10-inning loss.
‘‘Going up against [Skenes], I knew it was going to be a tough day to hit,’’ Horton said after the game. “Iron sharpens iron, so just being able to compete against him was really fun.
‘‘Hopefully we’re doing it for a lot of years.’’
The Pirates, who have one of the worst offenses in the majors, are no Tigers, who boast one of the best records in MLB. But Horton was just as impressive as Brown was a week ago. And, unlike his rotation mate, he has built a trend of mostly strong outings as he gets his first taste of the majors.
Horton, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2022 draft, has allowed three runs or fewer in six of his seven outings this season and has a 3.47 ERA, a boon to a Cubs pitching staff in need of solid starters while without Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga and Javier Assad.
‘‘He’s just learning [from] start to start,’’ outfielder Ian Happ said. ‘‘He’s done a really good job of being with the other starters, guys who have been around for a long time, picking their brains, asking questions and doing everything he can to get better. . . . He has a great mentality. He has a really good mound presence, and he’s got the right attitude for it.’’
‘‘From the first time I caught him down in Triple-A this year,’’ catcher Reese McGuire said, ‘‘I just knew he’s going to be a really good pitcher in this league.’’
Solving Skenes
Horton was able to match Skenes, thanks in part to the work of Cubs hitters, who jacked Skenes’ pitch count up enough to chase him from the game after five innings.
They forced Skenes to throw 35 pitches in the third alone, with Matt Shaw seeing nine pitches in his at-bat and Kyle Tucker 10.
Of course, the Cubs didn’t score any runs against Skenes, no matter how relatively brief his outing was, showing that even a solid approach doesn’t always equal success against the best in the game.
‘‘We faced a good pitcher,’’ manager Craig Counsell said. ‘‘They make it hard. You get some runners on, and it’s still tough. We had some long at-bats . . . but you’ve got to get hits to win.’’
In recent matchups against Skubal, Skenes, the Nationals’ MacKenzie Gore and the Phillies’ Jesus Luzardo, the Cubs totaled two runs and lost all four games.
‘‘The offensive group has been so good all year,’’ Happ said. ‘‘It wasn’t going to be completely perfect. You run into a stretch with some tough pitchers, some good staffs and bullpens, that makes it difficult.
‘‘But it just means we’re due for a couple of big numbers here. That’s coming.’’
First run on the board
Cubs reliever Drew Pomeranz yielded his first run of the season, though his ERA remains an unblemished 0.00.
In the 10th, he allowed the automatic runner to score — which counts as an unearned run — on a sacrifice fly.
Pomeranz has pitched 16 1/3 innings without yielding an earned run.