Shota Imanaga Pitches 7 Solid Innings as the Cubs Beat the Cardinals 5-1
11:11 JST, June 16, 2024
CHICAGO (AP) — Shota Imanaga pitched seven effective innings and Ian Happ hit a three-run homer, helping the Chicago Cubs hold off the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 on Saturday.
Imanaga allowed one run and four hits in his second straight win. The Japanese left-hander struck out six and walked none while improving to 3-0 with a 1.31 ERA in his first seven starts at Wrigley Field.
“He pitched an incredible game,” manager Craig Counsell said. “I thought his fastball was so good today. Just his location with his fastball was excellent all day.”
Chicago had lost three of four and 15 of 21. It was the team’s first win in four games against rival St. Louis this season.
The Cardinals threatened in the seventh, putting runners on first and second with one out. But Imanaga (7-1) retired Dylan Carlson on a flyball and struck out Brendan Donovan, preserving a 2-1 lead.
Imanaga emphatically pumped his left arm after Donovan swung and missed an 84.1 mph sweeper for strike three on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. The rookie finished with a career-high 103 pitches, 69 for strikes.
Asking what he was thinking as he retired Donovan, Imanaga said he was “pretty hungry.”
“So I was thinking about what kind of food, nutrition, I should take after the game,” he said through an interpreter. “This is my honest thoughts.”
The Cubs (34-37) then broke open the game in the bottom half. With two outs and two on, Happ drove a 1-2 slider from John King deep to left-center for his seventh homer.
“To not have to give the bullpen a one-run lead and try to ask them to hold it, you know it was great,” Happ said.
St. Louis (34-35) finished with four hits. It had won three in a row and four of five to get back to .500.
“(Imanaga) did a really nice job,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “That mix of the four-seamer with the split was tough for the guys, obviously. We weren’t able to string a whole lot together off of him.”
The Cardinals jumped in front on Nolan Arenado’s sacrifice fly in the fourth, but the Cubs responded with two runs in the bottom half.
Andre Pallante (2-3) departed with one out and runners on first and second. Chris Roycroft came in and mishandled Nico Hoerner’s grounder up the first base line, allowing Cody Bellinger to score. Seiya Suzuki scampered home on Dansby Swanson’s grounder in front of the plate.
Pallante was charged with one earned run and five hits. He pitched five scoreless innings in a 5-1 victory over Colorado in his previous start.
“I felt like my stuff was really good,” he said. “I was commanding the ball really well. I think a couple of the hits they got were on really good pitches.”
"Sports" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Shohei Ohtani Won’t Pitch in the World Series, but That’s Not Slowing Ohtanimania
-
Yokohama DeNA BayStars Capture 1st Japan Series Title in 26 Years (Update 1)
-
World Series Champion Dodgers Have Eye on Back-to-back Titles with Shohei Ohtani Returning to Mound in 2025
-
Shohei Ohtani Set to Play for Dodgers in Game 3 of World Series Following Shoulder Injury
-
Tom Brady’s Purchase of a Minority Stake in the Las Vegas Raiders Is Approved by NFL Team Owners
JN ACCESS RANKING
- Streaming Services Boost Anime Popularity Overseas; Former ‘Geeky’ Interest More Beloved Among Gen Z than 3 Major U.S. Sports
- JICA Employee Suspected of Leaking Info on ODA Project in Manila; Bidding for Railway Renovation May Have Been Impacted
- G20 Sees Soft Landing for Global Economy; Leaders Pledge to Resist Protectionism as Trump Calls for Imported Goods Flat Tariff
- Japanese Automakers Team Up on Software Development; Aim to Compete with U.S., China in SDV Market
- 2024 POLLS: Ruling Camp Likely to Win Lower House Majority