Sunday notes…
- AT THE TROP: Today’s game will be the Cubs’ 12th at Tropicana Field. They are 4-7, including 2-1 this year. They lost to the Rays on April 6, then beat them on April 7 and 8. It will be the 243rd game for the Red Sox at “the Trop,” where they are 116-126 vs. the Rays overall and 1-6 this year. They played there just last weekend, winning the first game and losing the next two. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
- WINNING AND LOSING SERIES: This is the 25th series that the Cubs have lost. They have won 26 and split three. Last year, they were 31-19-3 in series and finished 92-70. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
- NOT SCORING RUNS: The Cubs have allowed a total of 10 runs in their last four games but lost three of them. This is the 18th span this season, some overlapping, in which the Cubs allowed no more than 10 runs. It is the first in which they did not win at least two games. They won all four in five spans, three games in five more and two games in seven. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
- RISPy BUSINESS: On June 16, the Cubs’ batting average for the season with runners in scoring position was .219. In the next 65 games, through Sept. 2, it was .289, raising the season average to .252. In their last 21 games, it is .185, dropping the season average to .243. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
- TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: The Cubs sweep a doubleheader from the Pirates, 4-2 and 7-2, thus clinching the NL Central title. It happened 23 years ago today, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2003.
Cubs lineup:
Red Sox lineup:
Shōta Imanaga, LHP vs. Tanner Houck, RHP
I’m actually a bit surprised that Shōta Imanaga is starting this game, unless the plan is to have him only go a couple of innings so he could be available maybe on Thursday against the Padres.
Imanaga has had a very good September: 1.96 ERA, 0.783 WHIP in four starts covering 23 innings, with only one home run allowed. Keep up the good work, Shōta. The
last time he faced the Red Sox was July 19, 2025 at Wrigley Field, where he threw seven shutout innings and struck out five.
Tanner Houck, who had a really good year for the Red Sox in 2024, had Tommy John surgery after nine starts in 2025 and has not pitched in MLB at all this year. He’s thrown eight innings in four rehab outings in the Red Sox minor leagues this year and posted a 3.38 ERA and 0.875 WHIP.
No current Cub has more than six at-bats against Houck. Dansby Swanson is 2-for-5 with a home run. The pitch chart for Houck below is from 2025.
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Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.
Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.
MLB.com Gameday
Baseball-reference.com game preview
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