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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 Ā© 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.Ā 

    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 ArrƔez 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 MartĆ­n 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 todayā€™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.Ā 

    San Diego used four relievers behind Nick Pivettaā€™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 Padresā€™ late-inning group relatively fresh for today, with Cease on a standard starterā€™s workload.Ā 

    Matchup-wise, Kittredgeā€™s opening inning will likely see him faceĀ 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:Ā The Great, Horrible Tragedy

    Follow Brandon Glick on Twitter: brandonglick (on BlueSky)

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    Featured Comments

    cl smooth

    cl smooth 1,629

    Posted

    7 minutes ago, SpongeWorthy said:

    i can't believe this color commentator is white sounds like katt williams impersonating steve harvey


    Ben McDonald. Came up with the orioles in the late 80s. Straight outta Louisiana. Dude is part swamp gator.

    • Like 1
    PeanutPunch33

    PeanutPunch33 209

    Posted

    Cease has an ERA of 4.5+, yet always destroys the Cubs.Ā  They need to make a statement todayĀ 

    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,016

    Posted

    1 minute ago, cl smooth said:


    Ben McDonald. Came up with the orioles in the late 80s. Straight outta Louisiana. Dude is part swamp gator.

    He was the number 1 overall pick in the draft too. Ā I was living in Maryland at the time and remember there being a lot of hype for him even though I was like 8 years old

    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,016

    Posted

    11 pitches, not bad

    Jason Ross

    Jason Ross 2,541

    Posted

    Shota shoved that inning.Ā 

    Jason Ross

    Jason Ross 2,541

    Posted

    CeaseĀ reallyĀ struggles once teams have seen him once. First inning was a lot of really hard hit balls. wOBA against jumps almost .100 points once it's a 2nd viewing this year. Feel good that the Cubs will get to him, even if it's not the first two or so innings.

    • Like 1
    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,016

    Posted

    1 minute ago, Jason Ross said:

    CeaseĀ reallyĀ struggles once teams have seen him once. First inning was a lot of really hard hit balls. wOBA against jumps almost .100 points once it's a 2nd viewing this year. Feel good that the Cubs will get to him, even if it's not the first two or so innings.

    Yeah but the Padres will have a quick trigger today so if he struggles hopefully its HR balls or at least a couple of quick XBH

    chibears55

    chibears55 799

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

    CeaseĀ reallyĀ struggles once teams have seen him once. First inning was a lot of really hard hit balls. wOBA against jumps almost .100 points once it's a 2nd viewing this year. Feel good that the Cubs will get to him, even if it's not the first two or so innings.

    They'll probably pull him in the 4th or 5th and won't get a real chance to get to him.

    Jason Ross

    Jason Ross 2,541

    Posted

    Just now, chibears55 said:

    They'll probably pull him in the 4th or 5th and won't get a real chance to get to him.

    Unless they pull him in the 3rd, the Cubs are going to get a second look at him.

    His wOBA against the 2nd time through is the same as the 3rd time through. And mirrors most pitchers 3rd time through.Ā 

    They can pull him in the 4th. They'll still get through the hitters you want to see him a second time.Ā 

    Hortonhearsawho

    Hortonhearsawho 84

    Posted

    Pete needs to be moved to the 9 hole.Ā 

    • Like 1
    Outshined_One

    Outshined_One 847

    Posted

    Happy to see PCA battle.

    Not so happy with the result.

    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,016

    Posted (edited)

    I guess PCA is only going to be useful for his defense in this series.

    Seems to press very easily. Ā Start of his career in 2023, start of 2024, start of 2025, long slump this year, now the start of his first playoff series. Ā He was starting to look better at the end of the year, now he's up there guessing again and being over eager.

    Edited by UMFan83
    Tryptamine

    Tryptamine 2,034

    Posted

    I'm finding it real suspicious that Cease keeps putting his hand through his hair then rubs down immediately after time after time.

    s2obed

    s2obed 80

    Posted

    PCA hot garbage as usual. He'll be Javy 2.0 when all is said and done... quote me.

    Caesar

    Caesar 10

    Posted

    Same exact pitch to strike him out 4 at bats in a row. At least he battled and raised pitch countĀ 

    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,016

    Posted

    Watch us lose 1-0 with the only run scoring off the opener.

    Brian707

    Brian707 1,519

    Posted

    I see this game thread is starting like yesterday's game thread. Hoping for a similar result as yesterday

    Jason Ross

    Jason Ross 2,541

    Posted

    In PCA's defense, ESPN's K-Zone makes it seem like he's chasing more than he is.Ā 

    Ā 

    Screenshot 2025-10-01 154307.png

    chibears55

    chibears55 799

    Posted

    Cease gonna go 6 scoreless with 10 Ks isn't he? šŸ˜µā€šŸ’«šŸ˜µā€šŸ’«

    Cubbies1996

    Cubbies1996 101

    Posted

    Would be nice if PCA actually ā€œlocked inā€ like he said he was in his articleā€¦

    mul21

    mul21 1,135

    Posted

    23 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

    Was thinking about this earlier, wouldn't it have been better to use someone other than Kittredge since they just saw him yesterday?

    Ā 

    This was exactly where I was.Ā  I didn't like that he faced 2 of those guys yesterday.

    soccer10k

    soccer10k 546

    Posted

    A double to the 9 hitter with 0 outs isnā€™t great.

    Stratos

    Stratos 503

    Posted

    1 minute ago, UMFan83 said:

    I guess PCA is only going to be useful for his defense in this series.

    Seems to press very easily. Ā Start of his career in 2023, start of 2024, start of 2025, long slump this year, now the start of his first playoff series

    They're pitching him well.Ā  High fastballs and low breaking stuff out of the zone.Ā  He just chases and gets himself out.

    PCA hitting .181 in Aug and Sept, a 45 wRC+.

    Stratos

    Stratos 503

    Posted (edited)

    5 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

    I'm finding it real suspicious that Cease keeps putting his hand through his hair then rubs down immediately after time after time.

    Could just be looking for sweat/water to use with rosin.Ā  Legal i believe

    Edited by Stratos


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