CLEVELAND β The game was secondary. What happened in the second inning was the only thing anyone was talking about afterward.
Cade Horton exited after just 17 pitches with right forearm discomfort, and the Cubs' bullpen couldn't hold a 1-0 lead in a 4-1 loss to the Guardians in Cleveland's home opener on Friday afternoon at Progressive Field. Chase DeLauter hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs to lead the Guardians' attack.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHC | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| CLE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | X | 4 | 9 | 0 |
The Horton Scare
Horton retired the Guardians in order in the first inning without issue. But after walking Kyle Manzardo to lead off the second, he threw a 93.8 mph fastball to Bo Naylor and immediately looked toward the Cubs' dugout. That was it β 17 pitches, 8 strikes, right forearm discomfort, and a very long walk off the mound.
Horton now joins Justin Steele (elbow, D60), Jordan Wicks (forearm, D15), Porter Hodge (elbow, D15), and Shelby Miller (elbow UCL, D60) on the growing list of injured Cubs arms. We wrote before the season that rotation depth would be this team's greatest weapon β that Jed Hoyer built a nine-deep pitching staff specifically because of how the 2025 postseason ended. That depth is being tested far earlier and far harder than anyone expected. Colin Rea came in for emergency long relief and did his job β 3.1 solid innings (4 H, 1 ER, 4 K) β but that's a reliever doing what relievers do. The real question is who fills Horton's spot in the rotation. The Cubs built this roster with arms like Ben Brown and Javier Assad stretched out in Iowa for exactly this scenario, and Steele is working his way back from Tommy John. That pipeline is about to matter a whole lot more than anyone wanted it to this early.
DeLauter Took Over in the Seventh
The game was 1-1 heading into the seventh after Miguel Amaya's RBI double in the third gave the Cubs an early lead and DeLauter's RBI single in the fifth tied it. Then Hunter Harvey entered and the inning unraveled. Gabriel Arias crushed a solo homer on a hanging slider to put Cleveland up 2-1. Two batters later, with Steven Kwan aboard after a walk, DeLauter hammered a 96.6 mph fastball 402 feet to right for a two-run bomb that made it 4-1. Harvey's line: 0.2 IP, 2 hits, 3 earned runs, 2 homers.
DeLauter finished 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and now has 5 homers through 8 games β tied for the AL lead. He's the first player since Trevor Story in 2016 to homer four times in his first three career games. The kid is a problem.
Happ's Arm, Not His Bat
Ian Happ went 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts, but he made the defensive play of the game. In the fifth, DeLauter singled to left to score Daniel Schneemann, but Arias tried to come all the way around from second and Happ gunned him down at home to keep the game tied. Without that throw, it could have been 2-1 Cleveland right there. The Cubs managed just 5 hits total β only Amaya (.400) and Carson Kelly (2-for-4) had any real success at the plate.
Up Next
The Cubs and Guardians continue Saturday at Progressive Field. Shota Imanaga (0-1, 7.20 ERA) faces Slade Cecconi (0-1, 12.46 ERA). First pitch is at 6:15 p.m. CT.