{"id":287475,"date":"2026-04-27T01:16:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T01:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/287475\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T01:16:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T01:16:31","slug":"3-takeaways-from-los-angeles-dodgers-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/287475\/","title":{"rendered":"3 takeaways from Los Angeles Dodgers series"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2014 Shota Imanaga isn\u2019t known for throwing his sweeper much.<\/p>\n

The sweeper has accounted for only 14% of his pitches thrown this year, well behind his four-seam fastball and splitter usage. However, it became one of his go-to pitches Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a> when he didn\u2019t have a great feel for his best two pitches early. Imanaga uncharacteristically walked three batters in the Cubs\u2019 6-0 loss at Dodger Stadium, including two in the Dodgers\u2019 three-run first inning.<\/p>\n

Imanaga hadn\u2019t issued two walks in an inning in more than a year, spanning 154 innings to April 15, 2025, against the Padres. He settled in after shaky command in the opening frame, but the Cubs offense couldn\u2019t get anything going, finishing with just four hits.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe certainly pitched well after that,\u201d manager Craig Counsell said. \u201cAnd he got us in the game, and if anything, there\u2019s never really a consolation, but we\u2019ve freshened up some bullpen guys and should be in good shape (next series).\u201d<\/p>\n

The uptick in Imanaga\u2019s sweeper usage Sunday, accounting for 29% of his pitches, was a cue in helping him get back on line with the rest of his repertoire.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to make that adjustment and limit those runs in the first inning for the next start,\u201d Imanaga said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry.<\/p>\n

The Cubs (17-11) dropped the series to the Dodgers after taking the first game Friday with a comeback victory that extended their winning streak to 10 games<\/a>, their longest since 2016. As they head to San Diego for a three-game set against the Padres beginning Monday, here are three takeaways from the Cubs\u2019 series loss<\/a> to the defending World Series champions.<\/p>\n

1. Bullpen injuries continue piling up.
\n\"ChicagoChicago Cubs pitcher Riley Martin throws against the Philadelphia Phillies during a game Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo\/Erin Hooley)<\/p>\n

The Cubs can\u2019t seem to get through a series without another injury impacting the bullpen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Left-hander Riley Martin<\/a> was placed on the 15-day injured list Sunday with left elbow inflammation. The severity of Martin\u2019s injury isn\u2019t yet known. He will return to Chicago to be examined and undergo imaging. The Cubs should have better clarity early this week.<\/p>\n

In corresponding moves, left-hander Charlie Barnes and right-hander Yacksel R\u00edos were called up from Triple-A Iowa and right-hander Vince Velasquez, who threw 2 1\/3 scoreless innings in Saturday\u2019s loss, was designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot for R\u00edos. The Cubs now have six relievers and 12 players from their 40-man roster on the IL.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next guy\u2019s got to do his job, that\u2019s kind of where we\u2019re at with this,\u201d Counsell said Sunday. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a number of guys get opportunities, we\u2019ve got guys coming back soon, and so that\u2019s a good thing. But again, the injuries have an effect eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veteran right-hander Phil Maton will be activated<\/a> from the IL during the Cubs\u2019 upcoming series in San Diego. Right-hander Ethan Roberts (laceration on right middle finger) is also nearing a return. He made a rehab appearance at Triple A on Saturday and will make one more outing with Iowa before rejoining the team. Daniel Palencia (left lat strain) has a big bullpen session on Tuesday in San Diego, which will determine his next steps and how close their closer is to coming back.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re dealing with a real challenge from a bullpen standpoint, and I\u2019ll give guys credit, we\u2019ve had a lot of unexpected performances out of guys that have really helped,\u201d president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Saturday. \u201cBut we do need to stabilize and get healthy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve put Iowa in a tough spot a lot because we\u2019re just constantly getting arms from them, and I feel badly about that, but that\u2019s what has to happen and we\u2019ve had some tough breaks.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Struggles with runners in scoring position hurt comeback attempts.
\n\"ChicagoChicago Cubs’ Michael Busch safely slides into third base as Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Santiago Espinal reaches to tag him during the second inning of a game Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Caroline Brehman)<\/p>\n

In both of the Cubs\u2019 losses to the Dodgers, they had opportunities to cut into the deficit by putting runners on base but failed to cash in.<\/p>\n

The Cubs went 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position Saturday and Sunday while leaving 19 on base. Their best chances Sunday came in the first two innings when the Cubs had runners on. But both times, Dodgers starter Justin Wrobleski recovered from falling behind 3-0 to Seiya Suzuki and Nico Hoerner<\/a>, respectively, to strike them out in the first and second innings.<\/p>\n

Hoerner\u2019s sequence was especially tough. The Cubs loaded the bases and had their best contact hitter up with one out. Hoerner thought he had drawn a run-scoring walk, challenging the 3-1 pitch, but the Automated Ball-Strike System<\/a> showed Wrobleski\u2019s fastball just touched the up-and-away corner. He followed with a fastball up and out of the zone and got Hoerner to chase for the strikeout.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose were our big opportunities, you need to kind of reverse one of those situations and we get runs on the board,\u201d Counsell said.<\/p>\n

The Cubs\u2019 approach has largely been solid this season, often yielding plenty of run-scoring chances on a daily basis. Through Sunday\u2019s game, the Cubs\u2019 337 plate appearances with RISP lead MLB. More often than not, it should result in runs despite falling short Saturday and Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just didn\u2019t execute and come through in those moments and that\u2019s what this team does, is we come through in those moments and today was a day we just didn\u2019t,\u201d catcher Carson Kelly said. \u201cWe just continue to have good at-bats and continue to put pressure on defenses and the pitching staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. A patient lineup tests the Cubs.
\n\"ChicagoChicago Cubs starting pitcher Colin Rea throws to the plate during the second inning of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n

Imanaga and right-handers Colin Rea and Javier Assad are known for their command around the strike zone.<\/p>\n

They don\u2019t possess the most elite pure stuff, but their success often comes from limiting walks and getting soft contact hit into an elite Cubs defense. The Dodgers, though, tested the trio over the weekend. They didn\u2019t chase out of the zone much, forcing them to stay more in the zone. And when they made a mistake, too often they were punished for it or got runners on via a walk.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t walk people, you can\u2019t give them free bases, you just have to make them hit their way on,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cBut they also make you throw quality pitches. And in the first (Imanaga) just didn\u2019t quite have enough quality pitches, that leads to two walks and then a couple hits, and you\u2019re playing from a hole.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cubs\u2019 pitching staff has collectively been good at limiting walks this season, and their 8.3% walk rate is tied for fifth best in the majors. A patient Dodgers lineup challenged them, however.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES \u2014 Shota Imanaga isn\u2019t known for throwing his sweeper much. The sweeper has accounted for only…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287476,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[2845,122409,111602,2139,123130,48,52,51,47,53,50,49,5443,91624,29553,123131],"class_list":{"0":"post-287475","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-chicago-cubs","9":"tag-colin-rea","10":"tag-craig-counsell","11":"tag-dodger-stadium","12":"tag-javier-assad","13":"tag-la","14":"tag-la-headlines","15":"tag-la-news","16":"tag-los-angeles","17":"tag-los-angeles-dodgers","18":"tag-los-angeles-headlines","19":"tag-los-angeles-news","20":"tag-mlb-baseball","21":"tag-riley-martin","22":"tag-shota-imanaga","23":"tag-vince-velasquez"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}