PHILADELPHIA — Left-hander Shota Imanaga is scheduled to throw in at least two more rehab games before rejoining the Cubs from the injured list.
His first test in game action since straining his left hamstring in early May went well.
Imanaga struck out four in two innings in an Arizona Complex League outing Monday, throwing about 25 pitches and then 15 more in the bullpen after the game, pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said.
Imanaga was throwing 88 to 90 mph, which is about what the Cubs would expect in the lower-intensity environment of the ACL, Hottovy said. He was pleased with Imanaga’s pitch shapes, including the vertical movement on his fastball.
“The things he was working on and feeling through in the week leading up, I think he did a great job of taking into the game,” Hottovy said.
Hottovy swapped text messages with Imanaga, who said he woke up with no issues Tuesday and was feeling great. He’s scheduled to pitch in another ACL game Saturday, according to Hottovy, this time aiming for three innings and 50-55 pitches. If that goes well, he could join Triple-A Iowa for his third rehab start.
The depth of the Cubs’ starting pitching has been tested since the losses of rotation leaders Imanaga and Justin Steele (season-ending elbow surgery) and right-hander Javier Assad (strained left oblique).
“It’s a really fun combination of veteran guys and young guys that are working together, and everybody’s supporting each other,” Hottovy said. “Everybody knows what the goal is. And, yeah, when you lose a guy like Steele [or] Shota, everybody could be like, ‘Oh, my gosh, what are we gonna do?’ And guys have just stepped up.”
Pressly proving himself
Reliever Ryan Pressly faced five batters and struck out two in a scoreless seventh inning Monday as the Cubs fell to the Phillies 4-3 in 11 innings. It was his second multi-strikeout outing of the season. The first came against the Reds a little over a week ago, when he struck out the side.
Since May 6, when Pressly surrendered eight runs to the Giants without recording an out in a 14-5 loss — his last outing as closer — he hasn’t allowed another run. That continued Tuesday when he pitched a scoreless eighth, allowing two hits and striking out one as the Cubs won 8-4.
“A lot of the credit goes to Ryan,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He had a rough outing, we took him out of a role, and this is what the great players do. That doesn’t deter them from getting better.”
Pressly’s fastball velocity also jumped over the course of his last three outings, from an average of 92.4 to 94.7, according to Statcast.
Hottovy half-joked it was a “byproduct of June” and the warmer weather.
“He’s had time to hone in the things he needs to do this year,” Hottovy added.
Wicks ready for next step
Left-hander Jordan Wicks, who’s on the minor-league injured list after leaving his Triple-A start on May 24 with a hamstring issue, threw a two-inning live batting-practice session and is set to progress to three innings in a game setting, Hottovy said. As of Tuesday, the Cubs had yet to decide whether to send him to Arizona to do that.
