The Cubs put together a pair of stirring Division Series victories over the Brewers in Games 3 and 4 at Wrigley Field.
They did this, in large part, by getting great pitching. They held the Brewers to three
runs in Game 3, getting shutdown relief in the late innings.
Then five Cubs pitchers held the Brewers to just three hits in Game 4, and only three Brewers runners got past first base. That truly is one of the best pitching performances in Cubs postseason history.
The obvious answer to the question posed in the headline here is “Shōta Imanaga,” since he started Game 2 and would be going on normal rest Saturday.
However.
Imanaga has not pitched well since mid-summer. He served up a pair of home runs in Game 2, hit by Andrew Vaughn and William Contreras, and didn’t make it out of the third inning. The home run was Shōta’s nemesis in the second half. He allowed 20 home runs in 76.2 innings after the All-Star break, and 15 of those came in his last nine starts. And that doesn’t include the two in this series, or the one he allowed to Manny Machado in the Wild Card Series.
So Craig Counsell faces a choice here. Does he go with Imanaga? Imanaga following an opener?
There are other choices. Colin Rea could start Game 5, but he had a 5.59 ERA in two regular-season games against the Brewers. On the other hand, he threw 3.1 innings of shutout relief in Game 2. As a Brewers pitcher last year, their team is certainly familiar with him. Rea could possibly open the game and throw a couple of innings, then give way to Imanaga.
Or what about Ben Brown? Brown threw two shutout innings in Game 1, though in garbage time. And he had a 1.64 ERA in two starts (11 innings) against the Brewers in the regular season.
One last option: Aaron Civale, who threw 4.1 shutout innings in Game 1. Civale pitched for the Brewers earlier this year, making five starts for them (4.91 ERA) before he was traded to the White Sox for Andrew Vaughn (and what a lopsided deal that seems to be right now). Again, the Brewers coaches are obviously familiar with Civale from his time there.
Some combination of all these pitchers might work best. If Counsell does go with Imanaga, he has to be on a short leash.
What would you do?
