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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

    JHBulls

    JHBulls 856

    Posted

    Note to self: Don’t fist pump outs. 

    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,013

    Posted (edited)

    Stupid camera angle...for a half second I was tricked into thinking it might have a chance.

    Edited by UMFan83
    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,013

    Posted

    Repeat of yesterday.  Busch with a long fly out, Nico with a single

    Jason Ross

    Jason Ross 2,540

    Posted

    Just now, UMFan83 said:

    Yeah thats what I was just saying.  Ultimately, Craig is smarter at baseball than us and has access to more data that goes way beyond "those guys faced him yesterday, bad idea" so I'll trust it was the right call.

    He's got a few starts as an opener under his belt. Probably felt the most comfortable going with the guy who's done it. 

    Soroka probably the other option but Kittredge did well against Tatis and Arraez yesterday so I'd guess that coupled with experience made him the option.

    Manny Trillos Brother

    Manny Trillos Brother 15

    Posted

    I'd like to see Cubs really run up Cease's pitch count. I know their "vaunted" pen is "great", but I'd love to get him out earlier than the Padres planned.

    chibears55

    chibears55 797

    Posted

    1 minute ago, Jason Ross said:

    I know the feeling is going to be that the opener totally backfired, but it may not have entirely. The goal of an opener is to get your SP deeper into the game - in this instance when Shota would be facing Tatis and Machado for a third time it will still only be his second. 

    Giving up a run certainly is not optimal, but I wouldn't classify it as a total bust if Shota gets 5 innings of good quality behind it. 

    Not disagreeing but because the first 2 guys reached, Shota needs to shut them down in the 2nd and not allow the lineup to turnover again by allowing a couple baserunners. 

    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,013

    Posted

    Happ has no chance vs Cease.  Not sure why he's batting 3rd

    Stratos

    Stratos 503

    Posted

    Happer's been crapper

    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,013

    Posted

    1 minute ago, Jason Ross said:

    He's got a few starts as an opener under his belt. Probably felt the most comfortable going with the guy who's done it. 

    Soroka probably the other option but Kittredge did well against Tatis and Arraez yesterday so I'd guess that coupled with experience made him the option.

    Plus I'm assuming you want to save Soroka for potential multiple innings later in the game.

    soccer10k

    soccer10k 546

    Posted

    1 minute ago, UMFan83 said:

    Repeat of yesterday.  Busch with a long fly out, Nico with a single

    Padres took a 1-0 lead. As long as the game ends the same way I’m good.

    Jason Ross

    Jason Ross 2,540

    Posted

    Just now, chibears55 said:

    Not disagreeing but because the first 2 guys reached, Shota needs to shut them down in the 2nd and not allow the lineup to turnover again by allowing a couple baserunners. 

    He'll be facing 3 LHH who hit significantly worse against LHP. It's a good inning for him.

    Cubbies1996

    Cubbies1996 101

    Posted

    Cease has been awful on the road this year. He’s gonna dominate the Cubs today isn’t he? Lol

    Post Count Padder

    Post Count Padder 195

    Posted

    Happ working the count: great

    Happ striking out: not great

    JHBulls

    JHBulls 856

    Posted

    Scoreless inning. Two long outs. 

    abuck1220

    abuck1220 207

    Posted

    is it the audio on the broadcast or amped up fans that make it sound like every flyball the cubs hit is 20 rows deep? 

    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,013

    Posted

    xBA on Cubs batted balls that inning:

    .470

    .640

    .370

    Jason Ross

    Jason Ross 2,540

    Posted

    Just now, Cubbies1996 said:

    Cease has been awful on the road this year. He’s gonna dominate the Cubs today isn’t he? Lol

    I think most pitching is going to look pretty good today. The wind is going to knock most things down. 

    SpongeWorthy

    SpongeWorthy 377

    Posted

    well at least kyle hit the ball hard

    Hortonhearsawho

    Hortonhearsawho 84

    Posted

    5 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

    I'm fine with the opener.  A little concerned that he chose a guy who Tatis and Arraez both got to see 22 hours ago.

    Yeah maybe opening with Rea or something might have worked out better. 

    Outshined_One

    Outshined_One 846

    Posted

    Just now, JHBulls said:

    Scoreless inning. Two long outs. 

    They'll get to Cease; it's just a matter of when.

    The bigger issue is going to be Shota keeping the ball in the park.

    • Like 1
    Jason Ross

    Jason Ross 2,540

    Posted

    Just now, abuck1220 said:

    is it the audio on the broadcast or amped up fans that make it sound like every flyball the cubs hit is 20 rows deep? 

    The Cubs have hits of: 99mph, 101 mph and 99mph. Fans are reacting to really hard hit balls. Wind is killing things today.

    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,013

    Posted

    Just now, Cubbies1996 said:

    Cease has been awful on the road this year. He’s gonna dominate the Cubs today isn’t he? Lol

    He has been awful but from what I've seen his peripherals haven't changed that much.  Also Wrigley basically plays like Petco these days.

    Jason Ross

    Jason Ross 2,540

    Posted

    Just now, Hortonhearsawho said:

    Yeah maybe opening with Rea or something might have worked out better. 

    Rea is a much worse pitcher than Kittredge. If we're worried about the Padres seeing BP players two-days-in-a-row in a three game set, then we were already screwed. 

    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,013

    Posted

    Oh I see we have another ump favoring the Padres today.



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