CHICAGO — In a wild, walk-off 3-2 victory for the Chicago Cubs, there were almost too many storylines to follow. Shota Imanaga continued his brilliant start to the season. Cody Bellinger returned to the lineup after being shelved since April 23 and delivered three hits, including a solo homer. And there was the first-pitch homer Michael Busch drove into the right-field bleachers to kick off the ninth and end the game, sending everyone at Wrigley Field home happy.
But it’s the start of Imanaga’s career that’s hard to ignore. Around 30 minutes before the first pitch, Imanaga strolled through the left-field grass heading for the bullpen. As he approached, the fans who had arrived early and started filling the bleachers let him know how they felt about the lefty. The dynamic starter has quickly become a fan favorite in Chicago.
Now after being named Rookie of the Month in April and starting his career in impressive fashion, the national media has taken notice. How could they not? Imanaga’s outings have become a must-see action.
“He’s been a big deal here,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He’s been so, so important to us and a big reason why we’re off to this start.”
Imanaga has helped lead the Cubs to a 22-14 start to the season despite the team being riddled by injuries to key players. After allowing just two runs in seven-plus innings while striking out eight and walking just one, Imanaga leads baseball with a 1.08 ERA in the first seven starts of his career. Through his first seven frames on Tuesday night, Imanaga was cruising against a strong San Diego Padres lineup.
It seemed like Imanaga was continuing a stretch the hasn’t seen in baseball for nearly 80 years. But after being sent out to start the eighth, Imanaga allowed a soft single — of his seven hits allowed, only two were well-struck — to Luis Arraez. Jurickson Profar stepped in next and five pitches later, he reached down and struck an Imanaga splitter just into the left-field seats to give the Padres a 2-1 lead.
“I thought it was a good pitch, (Profar) took a really good swing,” Counsell said. “It’s tip your cap. It’s unfortunate for sure, but it didn’t spoil another great outing.”
The splitter had been a devastating weapon for Imanaga on the evening up to that point. He threw 38 of them, garnering 24 swings and 15 swings-and-misses (out of 20 total). One mistake — which nearly everyone agreed wasn’t an error on Imanaga’s part — was nearly enough to deal the Cubs a loss. Imanaga deserved better. The Cubs offense owed him as much. They eventually came through.
In the eighth, Christopher Morel lifted a sacrifice fly to center to tie the game. He was able to do so because Bellinger followed a Mike Tauchman walk with a solid single to right, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Not only did Bellinger have three hits on the evening and start the scoring with a solo shot in the fourth, his only out came in the first with a 12-pitch at-bat.
“It felt really good,” Bellinger said of his homer. “Worked another decent at-bat and stayed within myself. I really just wanted to put a good swing on the ball.”
Michael Busch celebrates after hitting a walk-off home run against the Padres. (Kamil Krzaczynski / USA Today)
The rain had fallen hard earlier in the day, but by the time the game started, Wrigley Field was dry and ready for baseball. By the ninth inning, a drizzle started to fall. By the time Busch was taking swings to prepare for his at-bat in the bottom half of the frame, a heavier stream threatened to disrupt play.
Busch could hear the fans get loud as they tried to will a quick ending. It somehow seemed to work. A flash of lightning lit up the sky as Enyel De Los Santos fired a 94-mph heater at the top of the zone. Busch was waiting for the pitch and promptly sent it 427 feet and into the bleachers, ending the night with another victory for the Cubs.
“First pitch and it was right on time,” Bellinger said. “The rain was coming. Go Buschy.”
“I was just trying to gear up for a fastball,” Busch said. “Right before my at-bat, Dansby (Swanson) just (said), ‘He’s going to throw you a heater.’ That got me in the lens of be ready for the heater and try not to miss it.”
None of it would have been possible if not for Imanaga. His biggest moment may have come in the sixth when he allowed a pair of one-out singles in a 1-0 game with Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts due up. Imanaga struck Machado out swinging, ending the sequence with a four-seamer on the inner half of the plate. Five pitches later, he got Bogaerts swinging on a splitter that nearly scraped the dirt. Imanaga screamed in celebration as catcher Miguel Amaya pumped his fist, matching Imanaga’s intensity.
“I was fired up too,” Amaya said. “He’s sometimes gotta let it out. Everybody has feelings and he showed those emotions.”
Imanaga could feel the energy from the crowd.
“Recently, it’s been hard for me to get up in the morning,” he said through an interpreter. “If I switch the fans cheering to my alarm, I think I’ll get up pretty fast.”
Counsell said Imanaga “raised his level” in that situation. He pointed out that he didn’t remember many moments like that for Imanaga this season where he had multiple men on base. He rarely finds himself in trouble, but when he is, he’s shown he won’t be rattled. In those moments, Imanaga shines.
“I thought it was him just enjoying the moment really and enjoying the competition,” Counsell said. “As simple as that. It was this feeling of running to the competition. He wanted that competition with great hitters up there.”
The rookie sensation has needed no grace period to adjust to baseball in a new country. Instead, he’s taken to MLB with seeming ease. He understands a rough patch will eventually come. But for now, he’s making it look simple.
The Cubs on the other hand, often make it too interesting. But as Counsell would point out, all that matters are the wins. Right now, the Cubs are gathering enough of those to have them tied for first place.
They’re doing that while slowly getting healthy too. Bellinger and Justin Steele are back. Seiya Suzuki is headed to Iowa for two games before likely returning to the team this weekend. Soon enough, Jordan Wicks will return to the rotation and the bullpen will get a boost by pushing another starter into a relief role.
As they continue to bank wins, a healthy Cubs lineup and rotation could be one of the more feared groups in the NL.
(Top photo of Shota Imanaga reacts after striking out Xander Bogaerts in the sixth inning: Kamil Krzaczynski / USA Today)
