CHICAGO — Friday was a fun pitching matchup at Wrigley Field.

Chicago fans knew it, Pittsburgh Pirates fans knew it and Cubs right-hander Cade Horton himself was aware of it.

It’s not every day you face Paul Skenes, the best pitcher in baseball, when you are a former first-round pick and former top prospect.

“I’m not scared of the moment,” Horton said after the Cubs’ 2-1 extra innings loss on Friday afternoon. “I love the moment. Just going out there and competing. It’s all about one pitch.”

Horton backed it up on the mound. The rookie turned in arguably the best outing of his young career, tossing 5.2 scoreless innings while permitting just three hits and a walk to four strikeouts.

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Doing so opposite of Skenes is nothing to scoff at. The Pirates’ ace allowed just four hits and a pair of walks while striking out five in five innings of work. That lowered his season ERA to 1.78 and his WHIP to 0.85. In 38 career starts (229 innings), Skenes has a 1.89 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP with 267 strikeouts. He’s just been dominant.

Horton’s ability to keep the Cubs in the game was impressive.

“He’s pitching really well,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said after the game. “He’s locked in. He’s delivering good outings. He’s efficient. His stuff plays in the strike zone, which is such an important thing for a young pitcher to feel and look forward to getting the ball the next time.”

It was important for Horton to redeem himself after a difficult outing. He had allowed four runs on seven hits with two walks in five innings against the Detroit Tigers in his last outing on Friday. It was statistically his worst outing by runs allowed of his seven-outing big-league career.

“Felt like I needed a bounce back this week and I was able to accomplish that,” Horton said.

His success stems from the moxie he carries on the mound. With each start, the 2022 No. 7 overall pick looks more and more like he belongs in The Show and not like a pitcher who was on the injured list in Triple-A Iowa at this time last year.

“I think he has a great mentality,” Cubs outfielder Ian Happ said. “I think he’s got really good mound presence, and he’s got the right attitude for it. The ability to throw strikes and the ability to fill up the zone is super important. It helps him get some length into games.”

“Pitch count (76) wasn’t very high today and he did a great job of just making them beat him. And the stuff is really good. The stuff is going to play as long as it’s in the zone.”