Imanaga's stellar seven-plus innings not enough to snap Cubs' skid

ATLANTA -- With every Shota Imanaga cleat print on the mound digging deeper into the dirt, one thing became clearer: the Braves' bats would go a bit quieter than usual Wednesday night against him during the Cubs’ 4-1 loss at Truist Park.

Atlanta entered as one of baseball’s best clubs against left-handed pitching, carrying a Major League-leading .270 average against southpaws along with 76 runs scored and a .769 OPS that ranked fifth in the league.

In the second of a three-game series, Imanaga held that offense to two runs while striking out six batters through seven-plus innings on 96 pitches.

The Cubs left-hander came in with a 4-1 record and a 2.01 ERA over his previous five starts.

Part of Imanaga’s success this season has come from an uptick in velocity across his five-pitch arsenal. His four-seamer has averaged 91.9 mph this season after sitting at 90.8 mph last year, while his split-finger has ticked up from 83.0 mph to 83.3 mph.

The fastball/splitter combo remains the foundation of his arsenal, with his sweeper following. Imanaga has shown a willingness to consecutively throw the splitter before the fastball, using his offspeed pitches to set up the heater.

The approach had produced stronger underlying numbers for the 32-year-old. He has thrown pitches in the strike zone at a 43% clip this season after sitting at 54% in 2025, but hitters have chased more often, with his chase rate jumping from 31.5% to 39.9%. His strikeout rate has also climbed from 20% to 28.3% coming into the game.

Imanaga exited after Nico Hoerner's flipped ball put Michael Harris Jr. on in the eighth inning, and the Braves broke away with Mike Yastrzemski's RBI double and Mauricio Dubón's two-run blast.