Imanaga pitches 7 solid innings as Cubs beat Cardinals 5-1 originally appeared in NBC Sports Chicago
CHICAGO (AP) — Shota Imanaga pitched seven effective innings and Ian Happ hit a three-run home run, helping the Chicago Cubs hold off the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 on Saturday.
Imanaga allowed one run and four hits in his second straight victory. The Japanese lefty struck out six and walked none, improving to 3-0 with a 1.31 ERA in his first seven starts at Wrigley Field.
“He pitched an incredible game,” coach Craig Counsell said. “I thought his fastball was so good today. Just his location with his fastball was excellent all day.”
Chicago had lost three of four and 15 of 21. It was the team’s first win in four games against rival St. Louis this season.
The Cardinals threatened in the seventh, putting runners on first and second with one out. But Imanaga (7-1) retired Dylan Carlson on a flyball and struck out Brendan Donovan, preserving the 2-1 lead.
Imanaga emphatically pumped his left arm after Donovan swung and missed an 84.1 mph sweep for strike three on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. The rookie finished with a career-high 103 pitches and 69 strikes.
Asked what he was thinking about retiring Donovan, Imanaga said he was “very hungry.”
“So I was thinking about what kind of food, nutrition, I should have after the game,” he said through an interpreter. “These are my honest thoughts.”
The Cubs (34-37) opened the game in the bottom half. With two outs and two on, Happ hit a 1-2 slider from John King to left center for his seventh home run.
“To not have to give the bullpen a one-run lead and try to ask them to hold it, you know that was great,” Happ said.
Louis (34-35) finished with four hits. He won three in a row and four of five to get back to .500.
“(Imanaga) did a really good job,” Cardinals coach Oliver Marmol said. “This mix of the four-seam player and the division was difficult for the guys, obviously. .”
The Cardinals jumped ahead on Nolan Arenado’s sacrifice bunt in the fourth, but the Cubs responded with two runs in the bottom half.
Andre Pallante (2-3) led off with one out and runners on first and second. Chris Roycroft came in and mishit Nico Hoerner’s grounder down the first baseline, allowing Cody Bellinger to score. Seiya Suzuki raced home on Dansby Swanson’s grounder in front of the plate.
Pallante was charged with one earned run and five hits. He pitched five scoreless innings in a 5-1 win over Colorado in his previous game.
“I felt like my work was really good,” he said. “I was commanding the ball very well. I think some of the hits they got were on really good pitches.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: C Willson Contreras (fractured left arm) took batting practice Friday at St. … LHP Steven Matz (back strain) is expected to throw approximately 50 pitches in a rehab appearance with Double-A Springfield on Sunday. … RHP Giovanny Gallegos (shoulder impingement) allowed three runs and three hits in one inning in a rehab appearance at Springfield on Friday.
Cubs: LHP Jordan Wicks was placed on the 15-day IL with a strained right oblique, and RHP Keegan Thompson was recalled from Triple-A Iowa. … RHP Yency Almonte (shoulder strain) is approaching a rehab stint in the minors after taking live batting practice at Arizona on Friday. … RHPs Caleb Kilian (shoulder strain) and Julian Merryweather (rib stress fracture) each had a bullpen session on Friday.
NEXT
Right-handers Miles Mikolas (4-6, 4.85 ERA) and Jameson Taillon (3-2, 3.09 ERA) pitch Sunday in the series finale. Mikolas is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in his last six starts for St. Taillon threw six scoreless innings in Chicago’s 5-2 loss at Tampa Bay on Tuesday night.
