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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

    Follow Brandon Glick on Twitter: brandonglick (on BlueSky)

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    Featured Comments

    s2obed

    s2obed 80

    Posted

    Just now, Brian707 said:

    PCA Dong incoming 

    when pigs fly

    PeanutPunch33

    PeanutPunch33 209

    Posted

    Just now, Jason Ross said:

    So who plays RF then? Tucker the guy with a bum calf? Or Moises Ballesteros, the guy who's never played RF?

    Anybody but Happ.  A wet paper bag for all I care, Happ is mediocre as hell 

    Brian707

    Brian707 1,519

    Posted

    Just now, PeanutPunch33 said:

    kingsley shut up GIF

    john candy punch GIF

    Jason Ross

    Jason Ross 2,541

    Posted

    Just now, PeanutPunch33 said:

    Anybody but Happ.  A wet paper bag for all I care, Happ is mediocre as hell 

    This is the worst take. Jeeze, dude. Come the hell on.

    • Like 1
    s2obed

    s2obed 80

    Posted

    fuckin make up your mind PCA.  Swing or don't.

    PeanutPunch33

    PeanutPunch33 209

    Posted

    1 minute ago, Jason Ross said:

    So who plays RF then? Tucker the guy with a bum calf? Or Moises Ballesteros, the guy who's never played RF?

    It's not only a terrible take on the sense that the rookie is almost assuredly going to be just as over matched but you ruin your defense on a windy, terrible day on top of it.

    You are smarter than this. I know you are.

    Yeah I guess if Kyle can't play defense yet then they are stuck 

    SpongeWorthy

    SpongeWorthy 377

    Posted

    shildt needs to pay for going full manager brain here

    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,016

    Posted

    horsefeathers at least take until you get a strike.  They're not gonna give you anything to hit.

    soccer10k

    soccer10k 546

    Posted

    Well he made contact so that was good.

    Stratos

    Stratos 503

    Posted

    Well at least Cease is gone

    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,016

    Posted

    The fact that he put it in play should be considered a success

    s2obed

    s2obed 80

    Posted (edited)

    hey, he put it in play! kudos pca

    Edited by s2obed
    Tryptamine

    Tryptamine 2,034

    Posted

    Well he put it in play, that's something I guess

    We Got The Whole 9

    We Got The Whole 9 1,144

    Posted

    Why not give Pete the red light on 0-0? He is never seeing first pitch strikes. Tell him to hold the bat and get a little bit of leverage.

    Brian707

    Brian707 1,519

    Posted

    Just now, PeanutPunch33 said:

    Online Dating Lose GIF

    Your takes are always laughable here kid

    s2obed

    s2obed 80

    Posted

    Just now, We Got The Whole 9 said:

    Why not give Pete the red light on 0-0? He is never seeing first pitch strikes. Tell him to hold the bat and get a little bit of leverage.

    Baez 2.0 I tell ya. 

    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,016

    Posted

    Just now, Stratos said:

    Well at least Cease is gone

    That pen is going to be in rough shape tomorrow unless one of them is able to eat 2-3 innings.

    • Like 1
    731.4life

    731.4life 24

    Posted

    He's just bad....

    Jason Ross

    Jason Ross 2,541

    Posted

    The Padres are really going to have to extend their BP.  They have some really good arms, but everyone of consequence except Suarez saw innings yesterday. 

    We talked about the Padres seeing Kittredge yesterday. The Cubs will get that benefit for most of the rest of the series.

    PeanutPunch33

    PeanutPunch33 209

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

    This is the worst take. Jeeze, dude. Come the hell on.

    The guy has 6 ABs in the playoffs and 5 strikeouts against right handed pitching, something he's supposed to be good against.  Do you at least agree that he shouldn't be hitting 3rd?  

    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,016

    Posted

    Just now, We Got The Whole 9 said:

    Why not give Pete the red light on 0-0? He is never seeing first pitch strikes. Tell him to hold the bat and get a little bit of leverage.

    Right, at least give him a chance to get into a good count and maybe get a pitch he can hit. 

    SpongeWorthy

    SpongeWorthy 377

    Posted

    1 minute ago, Jason Ross said:

    The Padres are really going to have to extend their BP.  They have some really good arms, but everyone of consequence except Suarez saw innings yesterday. 

    We talked about the Padres seeing Kittredge yesterday. The Cubs will get that benefit for most of the rest of the series.

    i'd be astonished if this mattered at all tbh

    Caesar

    Caesar 10

    Posted

    PCA baseball IQ is questionable. He can’t figure out not to swing on 1st pitch when everyone knows he won’t get a strike. He’s an over emotional fool.

    • Like 1
    PeanutPunch33

    PeanutPunch33 209

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, Brian707 said:

    Your takes are always laughable here kid

    Sorry I don't love corner outfielders that can't hit worth a **** lol 

    • Disagree 1


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