Alex Bregman update: Here

Shōta Imanaga, LHP vs. Janson Junk, RHP

This year is a tale of five Shōtas:

First nine starts: 2.32 ERA, 0.902 WHIP, only 5 HR in 54.1 innings
Next seven starts: 7.41 ERA, 1.274 WHIP, 15 (!) HR in 37.2 innings
Next seven starts: 1.77 ERA, 1.180 WHIP, only 5 HR in 40.2 innings
Next four starts: 7.13 ERA, 1.528 WHIP, 8 (!) HR in 17.2 (!) innings
Next three starts: 2.00 ERA, 0.778 WHIP, only 1 HR in 18 innings

Three of those guys are Cy Young candidates. The other two are DFA candidates. Which one will we get tonight?

The good news, perhaps, is that one of the most recent three starts was Sept. 4 against the Marlins in Miami, where he held them to three hits and one run, with no home runs. Just do that again, Shōta.

Janson Junk was Imanaga’s opponent in that Sept. 4 game and he held the Cubs to three hits and one run in five innings. The Cubs won the game off the Marlins bullpen.

Since then Junk has not gone past the third inning in two starts, one vs. the Mets (who scored eight runs off him) and one vs. the Diamondbacks, who he held to just one run. It appears he’s on a pitch limit of about 75 or so, as he hasn’t thrown more than that in about a month. So the patient Cubs should try to wait him out with walks and get him out early.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

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You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

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Discuss amongst yourselves.