Imanaga rocked as Mets crush Cubs |
CHICAGO — Ever since arriving in Chicago, Shota Imanaga has been as good, if not better than advertised, as he has been one of the best pitchers in baseball. Entering Friday with a 7-1 record and a sparkling 1.87 ERA, there is a reason why the Chicago Cubs (36-40) have had so much success in his starts: They are 12-3 in games he pitches.
At some point, you had to think teams would figure him out, as his fly-ball style of pitching isn't what you typically see in today's game. The Milwaukee Brewers seemed to unlock something a few starts ago, but the New York Mets (36-38) handed him his worst outing at Wrigley Field on Friday as the Mets crushed the Cubs 11-1. Imanaga labored through three innings, walking three and striking out three, as his command wasn't great. That left him vulnerable to hard contact as he surrendered 11 hits and allowed 10 earned runs as his ERA climbed to 2.96 for the season. “He made some mistakes, and they jumped on them,” manager Craig Counsell said after the loss. “You just chalk it up to a bad day and go get them the next time.” Three of the runs he allowed came in the first inning as the JD Martinez homer put the Mets on top for good 3-0 three hitters into the game. “The previous start, my velo, I dropped it a little bit early on, on purpose,” Imanaga said. “And then towards the end, I bumped it up to like 92, 93. And so today was the same approach. But before I started adjusting my velo, they were hitting the ball. “So I think moving forward, I just need to figure out what adjustments I need to make towards that and just go from there.” Imanaga wants to figure out how to not have these rough outings. “Sometimes, when I give my 100 percent, that's not enough,” he said. “So I need to figure out unique ways to be better.” Not only was that a preview of what was to come for Imanaga, but it would be all of the offense that Jose Quintana would have, as he had what we call a turn-back-the-clock type of game. Quintana hasn't been great this season, but he has had a great stretch of starts this month, which has turned his season around. That included a 6 1/3 outing against the Cubs, in which he walked one and struck out eight while also allowing just one run. Already down by three in the first, the Cubs had their work cut out for them, but with a leadoff walk by Nico Hoerner and a Seiya Suzuki fielders choice, the Cubs were threatening. Cody Bellinger kept the line moving with a single to load the bases, only to have Christopher Morel ground into a rally-killing double play. A run did score on that double play, but it was the only run the Cubs would score in what was a horrible day. Home runs continued to be an issue for Imanaga in the second, with Francisco Alvarez leading the second off with a solo blast before another bomb from Brandon Nimmo made things 6-1 as the Mets offense was rolling. Then came the third inning, with Pete Alonso starting things off with a double before a pair of singles brought home another run to push their lead to 7-1. Down, but with plenty of time to climb back into the game, the Cubs tried to use a two-out rally as Suzuki was hit by a pitch before the Bellinger double put two runners in scoring position, and Morel came to bat again. Once again, the Cubs were unable to cash in on that chance as they continued to trail 7-1. Already with the worst start of his MLB career, Imanaga was back out for the fourth, and things continued to get worse for the left-hander. Francisco Lindor led things off with a double, which was followed by singles from Nimmo and Martinez, with Martinez pushing the lead to 8-1. That was the final hitter Imanaga faced, as he was lifted in favor of Hayden Wesneski, who promptly walked the first hitter he faced. Imanaga would get charged with two more earned runs, with one coming on a fielder's choice and another on the Jose Iglesias single, as the Mets opened up an 11-1 lead through four. That would be it for the Mets offensively, but with a 10-run lead, you had to think they liked their chances to pick up the win. Over the next few innings, neither team could get much of anything going offensively until the bottom of the seventh when the Cubs were trying to give the fans something to cheer about. Patrick Wisdom started the potential rally with a leadoff single before Miguel Amaya extended the inning with a two-out walk, only to have Hoerner fly out to end the threat. It was the same story one inning later, with Suzuki opening the bottom of the eighth with a walk before advancing to second on the Morel Ground-rule double. Those would be the final two runners the Cubs would put in scoring position in this one as Adam Ottavino buckled down to escape another jam before Drew Smith worked around a David Bote single in the ninth to secure the win. With six hits, there wasn't much to get excited about for the Cubs as Bellinger led the way with two hits. The Cubs will turn to Jameson Taillon on Saturday as he will look to even up their series against Tylor Megill. “Sometimes, when I give my 100% that’s not enough. So, I need to figure out unique ways to be better.” “He’s gonna have to stop lunging for that bag until that knee gets right. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.” “Just cautionary … we’re pretty optimistic.”
Shota Imanaga on his performance today. pic.twitter.com/GhEhW38CWQ
Cliff Floyd on Dansby Swanson’s baserunning to first. pic.twitter.com/J9hpxl2naG
Craig Counsell on Dansby Swanson leaving the game. pic.twitter.com/dbAINooiVv
