Cade Horton struck out a career-best eight, Michael Busch and Matt Shaw hit home runs and the visiting Chicago Cubs defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 on Wednesday night.
Horton (7-3) allowed one run, one hit and two walks in 5 2/3 innings while winning his fourth consecutive start. His scoreless streak ended at 28 1/3 innings after he exited in the sixth, when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run double off reliever Andrew Kittredge.
Busch added a sacrifice fly to help the Cubs gain a split of the first two games of the three-game series.
The Cubs are 2-3 with one game left on a six-game road trip.
Busch started the scoring with a towering home run to right on a 3-1 fastball from Kevin Gausman (8-9) with two outs in the third. It was his 23rd long ball of the year.
Horton retired the first 10 batters he faced before walking Bo Bichette on four pitches with one out in the fourth. Guerrero followed by working the count to 3-0 before flying out to the warning track in left.
With one out in the fifth, Shaw lined a 1-2 splitter down the left-field line for his eighth home run since the All-Star break, his 10th of the season.
Toronto’s first hit of the game was a line-drive single to center by Andres Gimenez with one out in the sixth. After a two-out walk to Bichette, Kittredge replaced Horton and allowed Guerrero’s double, cutting the Blue Jays’ deficit to 2-1.
Kittredge got the first out of the seventh before Caleb Thielbar finished the inning.
Braydon Fisher entered the game in the eighth to replace Gausman, who allowed two runs, three hits and one walk with three strikeouts in seven innings.
Fisher issued a leadoff walk to Shaw, who stole second and took third on Miguel Amaya’s infield single to shortstop. Amaya, who had been removed from the injured list on Tuesday, stumbled crossing the bag at first and was removed on a cart.
Reese McGuire ran for him and took second as Shaw scored on Busch’s sacrifice fly to center. McGuire scored on Seiya Suzuki’s ground single up the middle.
Chicago’s Brad Keller pitched a perfect eighth, and Daniel Palencia tossed a 1-2-3 ninth with one strikeout to earn his 16th save.
–Field Level Media
