Cubs’ Cade Horton Can’t Finish His Set — Brewers Drop a Heavy Beat in Game 1

Chicago, stand up — but sit back down real quick because Game 1 of this doubleheader didn’t hit like the Cubs expected. Rookie arm Cade Horton, who’s been spitting nothing but fire on the mound lately, got cut short in the third inning with a blister on his middle finger. Just like that, the Cubs’ vibe got interrupted.

Horton came in hot, looking for that fifth straight dub after giving up only one run in his last 28 innings. He looked smooth through two, then Milwaukee’s Brice Turang caught a fastball and sent it floating into the left-field bleachers — like a DJ dropping the needle on the wrong record. Then, after a double and a walk, Horton had to wave for the trainers. Line: 2⅔ innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 3 strikeouts. Curtain call.

Milwaukee’s beat kept building. Freddy Peralta — career-best 15th win — shut the Cubs all the way down with six scoreless, letting the bullpen mix the rest. By the fifth, Caleb Durbin was blasting 419-foot solos, and the eighth inning turned into a messy remix for Chicago — wild pitch, walks, runs piling on. Final track: Brewers 7, Cubs 0.

Turang and Durbin both drove in a pair. Joey Ortiz brought steady bass with two hits and an RBI, and Sal Frelick slid in with two hits and two runs. Meanwhile, Chicago? Just one lonely hit all game.

This loss hits different because it follows that franchise-record 14-game win streak that snapped just yesterday. The streak’s over, Horton’s blister is a question mark, and the bullpen already got pressed in Game 1. Manager Craig Counsell’s got to rearrange the playlist fast with Game 2 still on deck tonight.

Chicago fans, don’t panic — even legends miss a step on the dance floor. But right now, Milwaukee’s spinning the records and Cubs are just trying to find the beat.