Horton wins MLB debut as Cubs hold off Mets

NEW YORK (AP) — Cade Horton earned the win with four solid innings of relief in his major league debut, and the Chicago Cubs held off the New York Mets 6-5 on Saturday night.

Cubs opener Brad Keller worked a perfect first inning before giving way to Horton, who was recalled from Triple-A Iowa earlier in the day. The team's top pitching prospect gave up three hits — including Brett Baty’s three-run homer in the fourth — and struck out five.

The 23-year-old Horton (1-0), a first-round draft pick in 2022 who was 2-1 with a 1.24 ERA in six starts at Iowa this season, walked none and threw 49 of 77 pitches for strikes in his first professional relief appearance.

Seiya Suzuki and Dansby Swanson hit RBI singles off Tylor Megill (3-3) in the first, and Michael Busch had a run-scoring single in the third before Swanson led off the fourth with a homer to left field.

Miguel Amaya added pivotal insurance with a two-run single in the eighth before Baty hit his third homer in two games, a two-run shot to left in the bottom half.

Porter Hodge, the Cubs’ sixth pitcher, earned his second save with a hitless ninth. After a leadoff walk, he got Francisco Lindor to ground into a 1-6-3 double play.

Megill allowed four runs and seven hits over 4 2/3 innings.

Key moment

With the Cubs ahead 4-3, right-hander Daniel Palencia struck out Juan Soto and retired Pete Alonso on a grounder to wriggle out of a two-on jam in the seventh.

Key stat

Megill has given up eight runs over 9 2/3 innings in two starts this month after compiling a 1.74 ERA in six April starts. In his five-year career, Megill is 10-4 with a 2.45 ERA in April and 14-20 with a 4.99 ERA thereafter.

Up next

Cubs LHP Matthew Boyd (3-2, 2.75 ERA) opposes RHP Griffin Canning (5-1, 2.50) in Sunday’s series finale.

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This story corrects Horton's age to 23.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb