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    Cubs-Padres Game Two Thread: Imanaga's Opener Is A Necessary Evil

    The Padres face the prospect of elimination if they can't win today at Wrigley Field.
    Brandon Glick

    By Brandon Glick

    Image courtesy of © David Banks-Imagn Images

    Cubs Video

    Chicago will treat today as a tandem day on the mound: Andrew Kittredge will open, then Shota Imanaga will follow with a bulk outing. Kittredge worked a clean eighth yesterday. This season, he has held right-handed hitters to a .690 OPS and left-handed hitters to a .541 OPS while his season FIP sits at 3.40. Over his last six starts, Imanaga has a 5.97 ERA with 12 home runs allowed in 34 2/3 innings, and he has allowed 31 homers in 144 2/3 frames this year. 

    Imanaga Against Padres Hitters

    Shota Imanaga vs. San Diego Padres: Current Batters Table
    Rk Player B PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GIDP
    1 Luis Arráez L 10 9 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .111 .200 .111 .311 0 0 0 0 0
    2 Xander Bogaerts R 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0
    3 Manny Machado R 9 9 1 0 0 1 1 0 6 .111 .111 .444 .556 0 0 0 0 0
    4 Fernando Tatis Jr. R 9 8 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .375 .444 .375 .819 0 0 0 0 0
    5 Jake Cronenworth L 6 6 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 .333 .333 .500 .833 0 0 0 0 0
    6 Martín Maldonado R 6 5 1 0 0 1 1 1 2 .200 .333 .800 1.133 0 0 0 0 1
    7 Jose Iglesias R 4 4 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 .750 .750 1.000 1.750 0 0 0 0 0
    8 Jackson Merrill L 3 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 .333 .333 .667 1.000 0 0 0 0 0
    9 Freddy Fermin R 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .500 .000 .500 0 0 0 1 0
    10 Gavin Sheets L 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0
    Provided by Stathead.com: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.
    Generated 10/1/2025.

    Dylan Cease draws a conventional start for San Diego. His overall season included ups and downs, but his September trend was upward: in five starts last month, he recorded a 3.12 ERA with a 2.56 FIP.

    Cease Against Cubs Hitters

    Dylan Cease vs. Chicago Cubs: Current Batters Table
    Rk Player B PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GIDP
    1 Ian Happ B 24 21 1 0 0 0 0 3 10 .048 .167 .048 .214 0 0 0 0 1
    2 Willi Castro B 23 23 5 0 0 1 2 0 8 .217 .217 .348 .565 0 0 0 0 0
    3 Kyle Tucker L 14 12 4 1 0 0 1 2 3 .333 .429 .417 .845 0 0 1 0 0
    4 Nico Hoerner R 13 9 2 1 0 0 0 3 2 .222 .462 .333 .795 0 0 1 1 0
    5 Michael Busch L 9 8 2 0 0 2 4 1 4 .250 .333 1.000 1.333 0 0 0 0 0
    6 Justin Turner R 8 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .125 .125 .125 .250 0 0 0 0 0
    7 Pete Crow-Armstrong L 5 4 2 1 0 0 1 1 1 .500 .600 .750 1.350 0 0 0 0 0
    8 Dansby Swanson R 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0
    9 Reese McGuire L 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0
    10 Seiya Suzuki R 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0
    11 Matt Shaw R 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .500 .500 .500 1.000 0 0 0 0 0
    Provided by Stathead.com: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.
    Generated 10/1/2025.

    Bullpen usage from yesterday shapes how both sides can deploy relief behind today’s starters. For Chicago, Matthew Boyd covered 4 1/3 innings before the bullpen recorded a postseason-record stretch by retiring 14 consecutive batters without a baserunner. Daniel Palencia handled 1 2/3 innings, followed by one inning each from Drew Pomeranz, Kittredge, and Brad Keller. 

    San Diego used four relievers behind Nick Pivetta’s five innings. Mason Miller pitched the 7th inning. Adrian Morejon covered one inning. Jeremiah Estrada worked 2/3 of an inning, and Wandy Peralta recorded the final 1/3 of the 8th. That usage left the Padres’ late-inning group relatively fresh for today, with Cease on a standard starter’s workload. 

    Matchup-wise, Kittredge’s opening inning will likely see him face Fernando Tatis Jr., Luis Arraez, and Manny Machado. The Cubs used him yesterday in that same section of the order. Once Imanaga enters, Chicago can stagger right-on-left plate appearances with him and their bullpen cavalry.

    Writer | Director | Author

    Short Film: Path of Two Minds
    Novel: The Great, Horrible Tragedy

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    Featured Comments

    Caesar

    Caesar 10

    Posted

    Just now, Caesar said:

    Let’s assume thee Cub win tomorrow. Do you believe they’ll get hot ? Or do you believe the next series will be a struggle to win each game? Remember many posters stated that the team that gets hot usually wins series? From what you’ve seen in what direction do thee Cub go? Struggle or get hot!

    What’s your gut tell you?

    • Disagree 1
    BKHoo

    BKHoo 196

    Posted

    Let’s get real PCA has absolutely sucked at the plate since the ASB. But tomorrow is a new opportunity. 

    • Like 1
    Rcal10

    Rcal10 1,541

    Posted

    35 minutes ago, SpongeWorthy said:

    one team in this series has been operating closer to the edge of its resource potential and it ain’t the cubs 

    What does this mean? Do you think the Padres are trying harder? Or are you suggesting they used their best pen arms two days in a row so they are  showing more urgency? I am talking strictly about this series. Whoever wins tomorrow didn’t have more urgency to win. They just won. Both teams will be playing as hard as they could. A bad AB or a bad pitching performance will not be a result of not caring as much as the other team. 

    gflore34

    gflore34 966

    Posted

    The Padres blew they're wad today with Cease, they had to, given how well he's pitched lately.  It was an almost a certain win for the Padres today.  Darvish is a whole different story, he not what he was, has no margin for error.  He's has the type of stuff the Cubs have crushed, think we'll see big things from Tucker and PCA.  I'd much rather face Cease in game 2 than 3, that's why getting game 1 was so big. 

    Rcal10

    Rcal10 1,541

    Posted

    15 minutes ago, Caesar said:

    What’s your gut tell you?

    Did you just post something and then respond to your own post with a question? 

    • Like 3
    Derwood

    Derwood 3,372

    Posted

    I'm already tired of the 'he should've walked Machado" narrative. When you score zero runs, none of that matters.

    Brian707

    Brian707 1,519

    Posted

    6 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

    Did you just post something and then respond to your own post with a question? 

    He is either crazy or has a burner account 

    confused teenage mutant ninja turtles GIF by Hyper RPG

    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,016

    Posted

    11 minutes ago, Derwood said:

    I'm already tired of the 'he should've walked Machado" narrative. When you score zero runs, none of that matters.

    Butterfly effect. Who knows the mindset the Cubs take down 1 run where 1 swing can tie it vs down 3 runs which seems much more daunting. I hear you that it’s less important than the fact that the Cubs offense couldn’t do anything but the HR changed the rest of the game, particularly how the Padres deployed their pen

    Soul

    Soul 595

    Posted

    22 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

    Did you just post something and then respond to your own post with a question? 

    Thanks. I thought it was just me.

    I owned a Suzuki

    I owned a Suzuki 125

    Posted

    39 minutes ago, Wilson A2000 said:

    Pete might be better off bunting every AB even though he’s not really good at it

    I would have him lay one down in his first AB as long as its situation appropriate

    Rcal10

    Rcal10 1,541

    Posted

    4 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

    Butterfly effect. Who knows the mindset the Cubs take down 1 run where 1 swing can tie it vs down 3 runs which seems much more daunting. I hear you that it’s less important than the fact that the Cubs offense couldn’t do anything but the HR changed the rest of the game, particularly how the Padres deployed their pen

    I don’t think the Padres do anything different with their pen if it was 1-0 or 3-0. Sure, maybe something works out differently. I doubt it does, but maybe. That said, he used his top guys as if it was a 1 run game. Not sure how that would have differed. 

    • Like 1
    Caesar

    Caesar 10

    Posted

    28 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

    Did you just post something and then respond to your own post with a question? 

    Yes.

    I owned a Suzuki

    I owned a Suzuki 125

    Posted

    49 minutes ago, Wilson A2000 said:

    Pete might be better off bunting every AB even though he’s not really good at it

    I would have him lay one down in his first AB as long as its situation appropriate

    Rcal10

    Rcal10 1,541

    Posted

    20 minutes ago, Derwood said:

    I'm already tired of the 'he should've walked Machado" narrative. When you score zero runs, none of that matters.

    Still a bad decision by Counsell. I was sure they were pulling Shota. Very surprised he pitched to Machado. Either take him out and don’t Machado with a righty pen arm or walk Machado and face Merrill. When he decided to leave Shota in I was sure they would want Machado. Not scoring any runs cost them the game. But that doesn’t mean the pitching decision wasn’t a mistake. 

    • Like 1
    Rcal10

    Rcal10 1,541

    Posted

    1 minute ago, Caesar said:

    Yes.

    So maybe now answer the question you asked yourself. We are all waiting for your response. 

    Caesar

    Caesar 10

    Posted

    Just now, Caesar said:

    Yes.

    All kidding aside. I don’t know how to operate this message boards well. I’m a bit older. Relax buddy! I’m not tech savvy.

    Rcal10

    Rcal10 1,541

    Posted (edited)

    2 minutes ago, Caesar said:

    All kidding aside. I don’t know how to operate this message boards well. I’m a bit older. Relax buddy! I’m not tech savvy.

    I was wondering about that. Hit the 3 dots at the top of your post. Just go to edit on your response and than add more narrative. Also, doubt you are older than I am. Lighten up a little too. I was only messing around. Old timers need to stick together, even if we don’t agree on a lot. 

    Edited by Rcal10
    Outshined_One

    Outshined_One 847

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, I owned a Suzuki said:

    I would have him lay one down in his first AB as long as its situation appropriate

    He should also slide head first into 1B, because everyone knows that's faster.

    • Haha 1
    Geographyhater8888

    Geographyhater8888 418

    Posted

    40 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

    What does this mean? Do you think the Padres are trying harder? Or are you suggesting they used their best pen arms two days in a row so they are  showing more urgency? I am talking strictly about this series. Whoever wins tomorrow didn’t have more urgency to win. They just won. Both teams will be playing as hard as they could. A bad AB or a bad pitching performance will not be a result of not caring as much as the other team. 

    I think he’s referring to their payroll:revenue ratio. Could be wrong though.

    Tangled Up in Plaid

    Tangled Up in Plaid 409

    Posted

    29 minutes ago, Brian707 said:

    He is either crazy or has a burner account 

    confused teenage mutant ninja turtles GIF by Hyper RPG

    Surprised everyone hasn't put him on their ignore list at this point. 

    Caesar

    Caesar 10

    Posted

    4 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

    I was wondering about that. Hit the 3 dots at the top of your post. Just go to edit on your response and than add more narrative. Also, doubt you are older than I am. Lighten up a little too. I was only messing around. Old timers need to stick together, even if we don’t agree on a lot. 

    If they can somehow get past SD I believe they can win against Brewers . Thee Cub struggle against high velocity pitching. This series might be tougher than Brewers. Brewers will not beat thee Cub or SD. 

    Ding Dong Johnson

    Ding Dong Johnson 1,520

    Posted

    14 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

    So maybe now answer the question you asked yourself. We are all waiting for your response. 

    Not all of us

    • Like 1
    Rcal10

    Rcal10 1,541

    Posted

    6 minutes ago, Ding Dong Johnson said:

    Not all of us

    😅

    Rcal10

    Rcal10 1,541

    Posted

    12 minutes ago, Caesar said:

    If they can somehow get past SD I believe they can win against Brewers . Thee Cub struggle against high velocity pitching. This series might be tougher than Brewers. Brewers will not beat thee Cub or SD. 

    This is something I don’t say often. I agree with you Caesar. I think whoever wins this series will beat the Brewers. The days off fit perfectly into the Padres being able to use their pen. And, for that matter. The Cubs too. Cubs top guys in the pen have been very good. 

    DrCub

    DrCub 71

    Posted

    23 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

    I was wondering about that. Hit the 3 dots at the top of your post. Just go to edit on your response and than add more narrative. Also, doubt you are older than I am. Lighten up a little too. I was only messing around. Old timers need to stick together, even if we don’t agree on a lot. 

    What is the minimum age for this old timers club? 



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