Cubs' Cade Horton boggles Braves again
Cade Horton baffled the Atlanta bats for the second straight outing with 6 1/3 strong innings and Pete Crow-Armstrong drove in a pair of runs to help the visiting Chicago Cubs beat the Braves 6-1 on Tuesday to even their three-game series.
The Cubs (82-63) ended a three-game losing streak and now hold a 3-2 lead over the Braves (65-80) in the season series. The Cubs are trying to win a season series against Atlanta for the first time since 2017.
Horton (10-4) allowed one run on four hits with two strikeouts and no walks. He threw 87 pitches and lowered his ERA to 2.70. Last Wednesday, Horton threw five no-hit innings against the Braves and was removed after reaching a pitch limit.
Andrew Kittredge retired the final two batters in the seventh. Caleb Thielbar worked a scoreless eighth and Ben Brown closed the game on his 26th birthday with a perfect ninth.
Crow-Armstrong was 1-for-2 with a walk, a hit by pitch and two stolen bases. He also drove in the Cubs' first run with a sacrifice fly in the first inning and singled in their second run in the third.
Atlanta's Spencer Strider (5-13) suffered his fifth straight loss. He pitched six innings and allowed two runs on six hits, three walks and eight strikeouts -- his most since fanning eight against the New York Mets on July 18. Strider also picked Willi Castro off first base.
The Braves cut the lead to 2-1 with a run in the third. Ronald Acuna Jr. doubled and scored on Jurickson Profar's two-out single to right. Acuna's hit to lead off the inning was the first by the Braves in two starts against Horton.
Chicago put the game away with a four-run rally in the eighth. Reliever Alexis Diaz walked Dansby Swanson with the bases loaded and was replaced by Connor Seabold. Matt Shaw singled to center field to drive in a pair of runs, then a third scored when Michael Harris II's throw scooted past the third baseman.
Oilers Cleared in Evander Kane LTIR Investigation
The NHL has closed its investigation into the Edmonton Oilers' usage of long-term injured reserve (LTIR) and found no wrongdoing, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told reporters Tuesday. As a result, the Oilers will not receive any punishment, either retroactive or for the upcoming season.
The investigation centered on Edmonton's handling of forward Evander Kane, who did not play at all during the regular season but returned for Game 2 of the first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings. He then scored six goals and 12 points in 21 playoff games while averaging 16:29 of ice time to help the Oilers reach their second-straight Stanley Cup Final, where they once again lost to the Florida Panthers.
Kane being on LTIR took his $5.125 million cap hit off the Oilers' books, which helped them acquire defenseman Jake Walman and forward Trent Frederic at the trade deadline. The Oilers were far from the first team to use this loophole to add players at the deadline, but for unknown reasons, the league decided to look into their usage of it more closely.
The league is set to close this loophole with the new CBA, which won't fully go into effect until the 2026-27 season, but some changes are already going into effect this season.
Starting this season, teams will be retired to ice a cap-compliant lineup for each playoff game, whereas the salary cap previously ceased to take effect once the postseason rolled around. Teams such as the Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights have iced lineups far above the cap in previous years, though not without significant controversy.
Teams will also receive less LTIR relief for injured players, now capping out at around $3.8 million for one player instead of their full cap hit. This has already had major ramifications around the league, most recently forcing the Montreal Canadiens to trade the contract of legendary goaltender Carey Price after previously having his entire $10.5 million cap hit off the books for the past few years.
The Oilers traded Kane, 34, to the Vancouver Canucks this offseason in exchange for a 2025 fourth-round pick. The trade was mostly to clear his salary with major extensions due over the next year and change.
Kane scored 62 goals and 111 points in 162 regular season games during his time in Edmonton, plus 26 goals and 42 points in 68 postseason games.
