Coming off a 9-3 drubbing at the hands of the Brewers in Game 1 of their wild-card series in Milwaukee, the Cubs are in something of a desperate position, trying to keep themselves from the brink of MLB elimination with a much-needed win.
They will turn to Shota Imanaga for that. And while Imanaga has not been the pitcher he was as a rookie last season–or, indeed, in the first half of this season–he’s still probably the best guy suited to tame the Brewers and even the series.
Imanaga was 9-8 with a 3.73 ERA this season, but did not look like himself late in the year. He closed with a 1-2 record in his final six starts, with a 5.97 ERA in 34.2 innings. He did not start in Game 2 of the division series against the Padres, but he did go four innings and allow two runs in the 3-0 loss in that one.
Shota Imanaga Threw 67 Pitches vs. Padres
Manager Craig Counsell said he was not certain that the long relief appearance helped Imanaga out much, other than giving him a taste of playoff baseball.
“I don’t know what it does,” Counsell said. “There’s no easy — it’s not easier. The postseason starts are hard. You’ve got a good team on the other side. You’ve got to make a lot of pitches. I think you understand — if anything, maybe you understand how in every pitch, kind of the intensity, you feel it. You kind of just go hard for as long as you can, and when it’s over, it’s over.
“In that sense it’s maybe a little different.”
Imanaga threw 67 pitches on five days rest at that point. He’s coming back now on a normal four-day schedule of rest.
Cubs Like ‘Fierce Competitor’ Imanaga
Imanaga has pitched well against the Brewers in three starts, though he has surrendered three homers. He held Milwaukee to a .190 batting average, and finished 1-2 with a 3.57 ERA on the season.
Counsell said he appreciates the way Imanaga thinks through a game, and the Cubs will need that on Monday.
“The thing that I love most about Shota is that he is a — there’s a couple things. He’s a competitor, and I think he’s a thinking-man’s competitor, and he also pitches with a lot of joy on the mound. While competing at a really high level,” Counsell said.
“He doesn’t sometimes come across as, like, this fierce competitor, because he’s really joyful on the mound, so that doesn’t come across as fierce necessarily. But I think he’s a fierce competitor. He does it by — he’s trying to figure out a way to get you out, and he’s trying to figure out a way to be better, and that’s going on pitch to pitch. That’s going on between starts.
“He’s really good at that part of it.”
Cubs Not Worried About Schedule
There’s some concern that, with the day off on Sunday and with Monday’s game starting at 9:08 ET, timing is not in Imanaga’s favor. Counsell brushed that off, though.
“Yeah, the schedule is the schedule, and I think every different schedule has its own challenges. For some guys, the off-day is awesome. For other guys, the off-day is, I’d rather be back out there. It’s just the schedule. …” he said.
“The start time, it’s not a big deal. I don’t think the start time is a big deal. An hour later, not a big deal. It makes for a long day. Doing this in the past, it does make for a long, let’s go, let’s go to the field, let’s get the game going, when is BP. But all good.”
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