Cade Horton tosses 2-hit ball over 5 innings as Cubs beat Orioles 1-0
Cubs to host 2027 MLB All-Star Game at Wrigley Field
It's official. The Chicago Cubs will host the 2027 MLB All-Star Game.
Rookie Cade Horton tossed two-hit ball over five innings, and the Chicago Cubs overcame a terrific start by Trevor Rogers to beat the Baltimore Orioles 1-0 on Friday.
The Cubs showed a video tribute of Ryne Sandberg and held 23 seconds of silence prior to their first home game since the Hall of Famer died. Former teammates Shawon Dunston, Jody Davis and Rick Sutcliffe then honored their friend by carrying a base onto the field and placing it at second.
A few hours earlier, Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the 2027 All-Star Game will be held at Wrigley Field during a news conference at home plate with Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts, Gov. JB Pritzker and mayor Brandon Johnson.
Ian Happ hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning against Rogers, and the Cubs came away with the win in a game that lasted just 1 hour, 49 minutes after losing two of three at Milwaukee. They began the day trailing the NL Central-leading Brewers by one game.
Horton (5-3) delivered his third straight scoreless outing.
Caleb Thielbar, newcomer Andrew Kittredge and Brad Keller each worked an inning. Daniel Palencia pitched around a two-out double by Adley Rutschman in the ninth, retiring Tyler O’Neill on a fly to deep left for his 15th save in 16 chances.
Rogers (4-2) was a tough-luck loser for Baltimore. The left-hander matched a career high by going eight innings and allowed one run and four hits. He struck out eight and walked none.
Key moment
Carson Kelly singled leading off the second, took third on Pete Crow-Armstrong's double to deep center and scored on Happ’s sacrifice fly.
Key stat
Horton has gone 17 2/3 innings without allowing a run.
Up next
The Cubs send All-Star LHP Matthew Boyd (11-4, 2.47 ERA) to the mound, and the Orioles go with RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (8-5, 4.38).
Cubs chairman says team's performance convinced him extending Hoyer's contract was right thing to do
Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts came into the season thinking about extending president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer's contract. The team's performance convinced him it was the right thing to do.
"We went into the season thinking about an extension," Ricketts said Friday. "I think the team was playing well enough that Jed had really proven he put a good ballclub on the field. I’ve always been comfortable with Jed. He makes good baseball decisions, and he's really built a good organization."
The Cubs agreed to a multiyear extension with the 51-year-old Hoyer on Monday. His contract was set to expire at the end of this season, his 14th with the Cubs. Hoyer was hired as general manager in 2011 and replaced Theo Epstein as president of baseball operations following the 2020 season.
Led by breakout All-Star Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago was second in the NL Central and a game behind Milwaukee at 63-45 entering Friday's matchup against the Baltimore Orioles. It lost two of three at Milwaukee this week.
The Cubs added depth to their lineup and pitching staff before the trade deadline. They acquired utility player Willi Castro from the rebuilding Minnesota Twins and veteran left-hander Taylor Rogers from the Pittsburgh Pirates. They also got right-handers Michael Soroka from the Washington Nationals and Andrew Kittredge from Baltimore.
"I think the way he's methodically gone about developing the right players and bringing them up, looking for the right guys to add, being thoughtful about who he signs," Ricketts said. "I think all those things have added up. He's had a good first four years. And then of course going into this season, when we got off to a great start, that just spoke to his decision-making and his judgment, and so we were confident a few weeks ago that an extension was the right thing to do."