CHICAGO — Through six innings, it seemed like a dream scenario was unfolding at Wrigley Field.

On a chilly, overcast evening at the corner of Clark and Addison, it served as a reminder that fall — and the playoffs — are right around the corner.

And the Cubs looked ready for postseason action for the first two-thirds of the game Wednesday night.

Young right-handers Cade Horton and Ben Brown had not allowed a hit to the Atlanta Braves and the Cubs found a way to scratch across a run to take the lead.

But everything fell apart in the top of the seventh inning when Brown allowed a leadoff single to notorious Cub Killer Ozzie Albies.

A few batters later, Braves shortstop Ha-Seong Kim — whom they just acquired over the holiday weekend from the Tampa Bay Rays — crushed a three-run shot into the wind off Cubs veteran Drew Pomeranz.

And just like that, the Cubs were trailing and eventually dropped the series finale 5-1 to the Braves.

Here are three things we learned from a tough loss at Wrigley Field:

A missed opportunity

Everything was shaping up to be a great night for the Cubs.

With their hottest pitcher on the mound throwing no-hit stuff (more on that later), it seemed a fait accompli that the Cubs would be able to sweep the Braves out of town and ride high into Thursday’s off-day.

But that’s not how things played out due to the late bullpen meltdown that included four runs in the seventh inning and another in the eighth.

The Cubs offense was unable to muster up much against Braves starter Bryce Elder and the Atlanta bullpen, with only four singles and no walks until there were two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

On a day where the San Diego Padres and the Cincinnati Reds had already lost, the Cubs missed out on a golden opportunity to solidify their playoff position.

Instead, they will remain four games up on the Padres for the top Wild Card seed and 10 games up on the Reds in the NL playoff standings.

A new ace?

Listen, we’re not trying to make major waves here in this Takeaways franchise. Shota Imanaga is still the Cubs’ ace and Matthew Boyd has filled the role of “co-ace” capably for most of the season (though he has hit a bit of a rough patch here lately).

But Cade Horton is on another level right now.

The 24-year-old right-hander just flat-out refuses to give up runs.

Since the All-Star break, Horton has made nine starts and six of those have been scoreless.

That includes Wednesday night, when he tossed five no-hit innings against the Braves and allowed only one walk while striking out six.

Horton now has a 0.77 ERA since the Midsummer Classic, which would rank as the second-best mark since 1933 — behind only former Cub Jake Arrieta during that magical 2015 run a decade ago.

Horton has a 2.78 ERA and 1.14 WHIP on the season and was in line to pick up his 10th win before the bullpen coughed up the lead in the seventh inning.

If the playoffs started next week, would he get the call to start Game 1?

It’s a topic Marquee Sports Network’s Lance Brozdowski analyzed on Tuesday night’s Cubs Daily Podcast:

A revolving door

The Cubs had a different starting center fielder for each game of the series against the Braves.

On Monday, it was Pete Crow-Armstrong patrolling his usual spot.

But then since Cubs manager Craig Counsell wants to give his star a mental and physical break, rookie Kevin Alcántara got the start in center for Tuesday’s game.

On Wednesday, it was a third new name in the lineup — veteran utility player Willi Castro playing center and hitting seventh.

Castro made an impact right away, driving in the Cubs’ lone run with a two-out single:

It was a big hit, as the Cubs were in danger of letting a golden scoring opportunity pass them by.

Ian Happ led the second inning off with a single and advanced all the way to third base on a throwing error by Braves left fielder Eli White.

After Carlos Santana grounded out to first base and Dansby Swanson struck out, Happ was still standing on third. But Castro came through in the clutch.

Then in the top of the third inning, Castro made a nice running catch on the warning track to rob Ronald Acuna Jr. of extra bases.

It ended up for naught, as the Cubs couldn’t conjure up any other offense throughout the rest of the game.

The Cubs are off Thursday before welcoming the rebuilding Washington Nationals to town this weekend.