Chicago Cubs Starting Pitcher Shota Imanaga’s stats in the strikeout department have been excellent in his last three starts. In his last three starts, Imanaga has 24 strikeouts. On July 30th against the Milwaukee Brewers, he struck out eight batters, on August 5 against the Cincinnati Reds, he struck out seven, and on August 10th against the St. Louis Cardinals, he struck out nine batters. Will Imanaga be able to last down the stretch and help the Cubs get out of their rut?
Shota Imanaga’s Stats In Strikeouts Are a Season Best
Imanaga reached seven strikeouts once this season, and that was his season high before this stretch. Since then, he’s not only tied but broken his previous season high in strikeouts twice. From a swing and miss perspective, he is missing bats at the best rate out of anyone on the Cubs right now. It would be a disservice to say Imanaga’s stats have been anything short of fantastic lately for the Cubs.
The problem for Chicago is that they’ve only won one of Imanaga’s last three starts. The offense has given him 13 runs in three games, which sounds great, but 10 of those 13 runs came in the July 30 game against the Brewers. The other two starts have featured three runs combined.
The Cubs Have Bigger Issues
The Chicago Cubs have a much bigger issue. There is a chance they might not make the playoffs. Highly unlikely, but there’s still a chance. The Milwaukee Brewers are currently on an unbelievable run and have pulled ahead of the Cubs. The Cubs went from leading the Central Division most of the year to now being nine games back of the Brewers.
It has to be a frustrating feeling for Cubs fans knowing your team played so well for so long, and as soon as you hit one little bad stretch, one of the teams chasing you decides to go on a 13-game winning streak. But that’s just baseball; anything can happen. The key thing is that Imanaga’s stats are staying at this elite level down the stretch.
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