Cade Horton keeps shutting down opposing lineups as Cubs keep sharp eye on growing innings count

Rookie right-hander Cade Horton is on a roll.

But just because Horton, 23, hasn’t allowed a run in his last three starts doesn’t mean the Cubs are shying away from their strategy to manage his innings as he ventures deeper into his first season in the big leagues.

Horton was cruising Friday but was done after five scoreless innings. The Cubs made the choice to end Horton’s outing after two trips through the Orioles’ order. Thanks to a blustery day at Wrigley Field and a rested, reinforced bullpen, the Cubs came away with a 1-0 victory in their first game after the trade deadline.

‘‘It’s something we’re going to keep an eye on with Cade, for sure,’’ manager Craig Counsell said after the game. ‘‘When there’s opportunities and moments to [shorten his outings], we’re going to do it.’’

Whether shorter starts become the norm for Horton as the Cubs try to preserve him for present and future championship chases remains to be seen. He is now past 100 innings for the season between the Cubs and Triple-A Iowa. That well eclipses the 34„ innings he pitched in 2024 and the 88„ innings he threw in 2023.

But as that innings total grows, Horton keeps turning in stellar showings. He has held the opposition scoreless in four of his last five starts and has a 1.26 ERA since the beginning of July.

‘‘He’s a learner,’’ catcher Carson Kelly said. ‘‘He continues to learn and get better.’’

Horton settling into the role of a dependable major-league starter is critical to a Cubs team that didn’t make a big starting-pitching splash at the trade deadline. Without an added top-of-the-rotation arm, it’s on Horton, Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd and Jameson Taillon to mold into a healthy group capable of handling playoff-level competition.

The Cubs keep discussing one of Horton’s strengths, which ought to prove useful in doing just that.

‘‘He’s very clearheaded out there, very focused, and he doesn’t let anything distract him from the next pitch,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘That’s a very simple approach, but it’s an advanced approach.

‘‘For a young player, when you put him into a new environment, you’ve got a lot of extra stuff going around. Cade seems to be able to avoid all that, block it out and just concentrate on the task at hand. That leads to continued success.’’

Another short stay

Catcher Moises Ballesteros’ latest visit to the major leagues was again a brief one.

Just two days after he was called up from Iowa, Ballesteros — the Cubs’ No. 2 prospect — was sent back there as the Cubs added their trade-deadline acquisitions to the active roster before the game Friday. Right-hander Gavin Hollowell also was returned to Iowa.

Ballesteros has terrific numbers with Iowa, including a .332/.393/.496 slash line and nine home runs in 86 games. But the Cubs don’t seem keen on bringing him — or any thriving minor-leaguer, for that matter — up for an elongated stay without a full-time job waiting.

‘‘We want to make sure that there’s opportunities there,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘Bringing [a player up from the minors] — let’s use Moises as an example — and having him not play or get one at-bat in five days, we’re going to lose the effectiveness of that player.

‘‘We’d rather have him playing [every day] for when opportunities present themselves.’’