Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (9/16/25): Cubs 4, Pirates 1 – Horton Outduels Skenes
Two of the best young pitchers in baseball battled it out in Tuesday’s matchup between the Cubs and Pirates. Chicago had the better of things on this night, jumping ahead early and never looking back to win the game and the series.
Michael Busch got things started with a bang, hitting a long solo home run against Paul Skenes in the first at-bat of the game. Pete Crow-Armstrong added an RBI single later in the frame to put the North Siders in front 2-0, making it the first time Skenes has ever allowed multiple runs in the 1st inning as a big leaguer.
The Pirates got one of those tallies back against Cade Horton in the bottom of the 1st when Oneil Cruz had a run-scoring triple. The Cubs responded when Ian Happ hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the 2nd to make it 3-1.
Horton settled in nicely after the opening inning, throwing five strong frames before hitting his pitch count. Chicago picked up one more run against reliever Evan Sisk with a PCA sac fly in the top of the 5th.
The Cubs bullpen had no trouble from that point, easily closing out the 4-1 victory and lowered the magic number to clinch a playoff spot to one. (Box score)
Key Moment
Not only did the North Siders score twice on Skenes in the 1st inning, they drastically shortened his evening by forcing him to throw over 30 pitches.
Why the Cubs Won
The pitching was superb and they managed to get to that magic number of four runs.
Stats That Matter
- Horton has an excellent case to be NL Rookie of the Year: 5 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 6 K, 1 BB.
- Busch had a homer, two doubles, and a walk.
- Nico Hoerner had three more hits and is now above .300 for the season.
- Carson Kelly had a pair of knocks, including a double.
Bottom Line
The Cubs have to be absolutely ecstatic with Horton’s development in 2025 and must give serious consideration to making him the Game 1 starter in the Wild Card series. It might have been easy to lose sight of the big picture with all the ups and downs this season, but they are going to win 90 games and make the playoffs. I think every fan would have gladly taken that in February.
On Deck
The Cubs go for a sweep Wednesday morning at 11:35am CT. Matthew Boyd takes the mound against Johan Oviedo in a game broadcast on MLB Network and Marquee with a radio feed on 670 The Score.
