Shota Imanaga solid in tough loss to Reds

Imanaga surrendered a leadoff homer to JJ Wetherholt in the first inning. Two walks and a hit brought a second run home to score in the third. Imanaga would pitch into the fifth, leaving with two outs and a runner on at 86 pitches. He walked three and collected eight strikeouts. The 32-year-old left-hander will take a 4.28 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and a 100/26 K/BB ratio across 103 innings into a start against the Orioles in Baltimore on Thursday.

Imanaga gave up nine hits, walked none and struck out four. The 32-year-old left-hander was pulled after getting the first out of the seventh inning and throwing 97 pitches. He’s earned the win in just one of his last nine starts. Imanaga’s ERA is 4.30. He’s lined up to face the Cardinals at home this weekend.

After being pushed back two days due to rainouts, Imanaga did not have his best stuff here. Luckily, the three home runs he gave up didn’t come back to bite him. That’s mostly because the Mets managed to make six errors in this game, but I digress. None of those three homers were cheapies and all of them came against Imanaga’s fastball. His velocity was down just a smidge here too, which is something to watch rather than an immediate cause for concern. All in all, this was a poor result after it’d felt like he was righting the ship and Imanaga now has an ugly 4.40 ERA on the season. He’s scheduled for a two-start week coming up against the Padres and Cardinals with both games at home.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters Edward Cabrera will get the ball for his regularly scheduled start on Tuesday with Imanaga being pushed back to Wednesday’s twin bill instead. It’ll be Javier Assad drawing the starting assignment for the other doubleheader contest at Citi Field.

This contest stood zero chance with showers in the forecast throughout the evening at Citi Field. It’ll be made up as a split doubleheader on Wednesday. It’s a tough break for the Cubs as they’re rained out for the second consecutive contest, which pushes Shota Imanaga back an additional day. He’ll be pitching on seven days of rest when he gets the ball on Tuesday at Citi Field. It’ll likely be Kodai Senga drawing the starting assignment for his second turn in New York’s rotation after allowing four runs over four innings in his return from the injured list last week.

It’ll be made up on August 6. There’s actually a ton to unpack here from a fantasy fallout standpoint. Toronto’s scheduled starter, Dylan Cease, will presumably take the ball for Monday’s series opener against the Astros. That would delay Shane Bieber’s return from the injured list for his season debut until Tuesday’s showdown in the Rogers Centre. Cease would close out a two-start week with a showdown against the Rangers at home. Meanwhile, Shota Imanaga gets the ball on Monday against the free-falling Mets as a part of a two-start week that wraps up with a road tilt against the Brewers.

Imanaga gave up five hits, walked one and struck out three. Imanaga has faced the Rockies in each of his last two starts, but didn’t get the win in either game despite pitching pretty well both times. The 32-year-old left-hander left Monday’s game with a 1-0 lead and two men on base and two outs in the sixth inning. Phil Maton promptly hit the first batter he faced with a pitch before walking in the tying run and just like that Imanaga was no longer in line for the win. He’ll take a 4.26 ERA into his next start against the Blue Jays at home this weekend.

Unlike last time out, the Cubs didn’t wait for Imanaga to have a misstep before lifting him tonight. He exited with a 1-0 lead after 90 pitches, but he was left with a no-decision after Jacob Webb gave up two runs in the eighth. Imanaga allowed just one hard-hit ball, a 98-mph groundout, and got five popouts tonight. He’ll face the Rockies again, this time at Wrigley, next Monday.

It should have been two runs in six innings and done. In the sixth, however, the Cubs’ one should-have-been-routine-out was a flyball lost in the twilight by Pete Crow-Armstrong, giving Shea Langeliers a two-run homer. The other three ballsin play in the inning were a 107-mph double and lineouts with xBAs of .890 and .860. In spite of that, Craig Counsell sent Imanaga out for the seventh and watched him give up two more homers. Of the four homers Imanaga allowed (including the inside-the-parker) only the last was a homer in more than half of MLB ballparks. This should have been a positive outing for the left-hander. Instead, it goes as a fourth straight bust, leaving him 4-6 with a 4.74 ERA. His next start will be the first of his career in Coors, making him a pretty weak play as a flyball pitcher.

Imanaga gave up three more homers tonight, so that’s eight in his last three starts. His ERA has jumped from 2.32 to 4.37 during the span. However, he’s still throwing harder and missing more bats than he did last year, so he’s probably going to remain useful in mixed leagues going forward. He’s due to face the A’s at home next time out.