PITTSBURGH (AP) — Cade Horton arrived in Chicago thinking about October.

It's almost here for the talented right-hander. And his surging team, too.

The 24-year-old pushed the Cubs to the brink of a postseason berth with five mostly efficient innings in a 4-1 win over ace Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night, the latest gem in a string of them that has seen Horton quickly deliver on the promise Chicago saw when it selected him seventh overall in the 2022 amateur draft.

Horton joined the organization during a period of transition, as the core that helped the big league club become a playoff fixture (and in 2016, World Series champions) in the late 2010s moved on.

A little more than three years later, Horton has emerged as one of the key pieces of a savvy (and relat

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