Shota Imanaga was charged with six runs in six-plus innings Thursday against the A’s.
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.