Another frustrating Sunday, the Cubs lose 4-0.
When does something arbitrary become something significant? If you haven’t been keeping track, the Cubs are now just 1-5 on Sundays. I don’t particularly think it is a getaway day issue. They are 3-3 in midweek series-enders. So it is at least a passing thought that there is something with Sundays.
It sure would have been nice to close out a series sweep and get the Brewers really reeling. Alas, Freddy Peralta was having none of that. He and three Brewer relievers held the mighty Cubs offense to five hits, two walks and nary a run. The Cubs simply could not get the offense into gear in this one.
For a while, Shōta Imanaga matched zeroes with the Brewers. but in the sixth, he allowed a hit and a walk before departing with a hamstring injury. For the second time in a week, Cubs fans hold their collective breath waiting to hear of the severity of an injury to their ace. It’s hard to imagine with a reoccurrence, that the Cubs won’t choose to shut Shota down for some period of time. I imagine he will miss at least the minimum stint on the injured list. This is something they will want to make sure they get under control.
This should cue speculation as to the potential escalation of one of their top prospects in Cade Horton. Horton is stretched out well and has been baffling Triple-A hitters in an offensive minded league. Another option would be Chris Flexen, who started for the White Sox just last year, into the rotation. Both are lined up well to take Imanaga’s place on normal throwing.
The other question out of this game would be Julian Merryweather. I’m not going to say I have no concerns about him. This is twice recently that he just didn’t get the job done. I’m not going to belabor this one. Coming in following the injury is a weird spot. The other time he struggled was when he came in to start the 10th. I am going to wonder if that spot gives him issues. Some pitchers just thrive better with clean starts to the inning.
Shota and Merryweather. Two storylines to keep an eye on. But nothing here that I think is too distressing. Two of three is good. Four of six is good. Five would have been great, but you can’t realistically expect to just roll over any opponent at the major league level. I’m relatively certain we haven’t seen the last of this Brewers team that has been so good for so long.
Pitch Counts:
- Cubs: 125, 8 IP, 32 BF (15.63 PPI/3.91)
- Brewers: 139, 9 IP, 32 BF (15.44 PPI/4.34 PPB)
Not much to see here. The Cubs offense did make the Brewers earn their outs. But the approach didn’t yield any real success. The Cubs pitchers were relatively efficient. This is another thing in regards to Merryweather. This unraveled fast. It only took him 14 pitches to allow the two runners he inherited and then two more before finally recording the third out. This was very different than his 10th-inning struggles recently when walks were largely the problem.
Three Stars:
- Shōta gets the top spot. Two runs over 5⅔ is very good. Get well soon.
- Kyle Tucker had two of the Cubs five hits and also drew a walk.
- Daniel Palencia faced three batters and struck out two.
Game 35, May 4: Brewers 4, Cubs 0 (21-14)
Fangraphs
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
- Superhero: Shōta Imanaga (.279). 5⅔ IP, 22 BF, 4 H, BB, 2 ER, 4 K (L 3-2)
- Hero: Kyle Tucker (.094). 2-3, BB
- Sidekick: Dansby Swanson 1-3
THREE GOATS:
- Billy Goat: Julian Merryweather (.368). ⅓ IP, 4 BF, 2 H, BB, 2 ER
- Goat: Seiya Suzuki (-.118). 0-4
- Kid: Jon Bert (-.117). 0-2, DP
WPA Play of the Game: With runners on first and third with two outs, Julian Merryweather threw a wild pitch for the game’s first runs. (.153)
*Cubs Play of the Game: With first and second and no outs in the sixth, the game still scoreless. Imanaga got Christian Yelich to hit a grounder, resulting in the first out. (.052)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Yesterday’s Winner: Pete Crow-Armstrong received 173 of 228 votes.
Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)
The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.
- Kyle Tucker +18
- Shōta Imanaga +11
- Miguel Amaya +7
- Ian Happ/Jameson Taillon +6
- Nate Pearson -6
- Matt Shaw -7
- Ben Brown/Julian Merryweather -8
- Dansby Swanson -10
Up Next: The Cubs return to Wrigley to face the 22-13 Giants, yet another excellent opponent in this hellish early season. Matthew Boyd (2-2, 2.70, 33⅓ IP) faces Landen Roupp (2-2, 5.10, 30 IP). Roupp was a 12th round pick of the Giants in 2021. Let’s see if the Cubs can get to the Giants right-hander.