This is going to be a pretty short game recap, as recaps here go.
Because what more can I say about the Cubs’ 2-0 loss to the Yankees except what’s in the headline and the blurb below the headline?
That’s the story of the game: Two solo homers off Shōta Imanaga and teh Cubs failing to get any offense going at all. The Cubs had just four hits and only two runners past first base.
Honestly, I thought Imanaga pitched pretty well. He threw 6.2 innings, allowed four hits (so just two singles apaort from
the homers), didn’t walk anyone and struck out six. Most of the time in modern baseball, a starter who does that puts his team in good position to win.
Here are the six strikeouts [VIDEO].
And here’s more on Imanaga’s afternoon [VIDEO].
Still more on Imanaga’s start from BCB’s JohnW53:
Shōta Imanaga posted the Cubs’ 35th quality start of the season, a little less than one of every three games.
In all those starts, including today, the pitchers’ record was 21-6, with eight no decisions. The Cubs are 25-10 in the 35 games.
The Cubs just couldn’t get any offense going at all against Will Warren. Miguel Amaya hit a two-out double in the third. but Pete Crow-Armstrong was called out on strikes to end the inning.
In the seventh, the Cubs got two men on base with two out when Alex Bregman and Ian Happ singled.
Nico Hoerner then hit a ball to short where Happ was originally ruled safe at second because the throw pulled Yankees second baseman Jose Caballero off the bag, but that was overturned on review [VIDEO].
You can see in the video that Caballero got his foot down on second base just before Happ touched it.
And that was about as close as the Cubs came to a rally in this game. The loss dropped the Cubs’ all-time interleague regular season record against the Yankees to 9-20, by far their worst against any American League team. (And that doesn’t even include their 0-8 against the Yankees in the 1932 and 1938 World Series.)
One positive note: Left-hander Antoine Kelly, just called up from Triple-A Iowa, made his MLB debut, and it was a success. He threw 1.1 scoreless innings, allowing no hits or runs, walking one and striking out one. Here’s the strikeout, of Yankees slugger Ben Rice, with two on base in the eighth [VIDEO].
Kelly looked good, he throws an easy 97. Might wind up being a keeper.
One more note from John about this loss:
This was just the fourth game of the 19,613 that the Cubs have played in the regular season since 1901 in which they lost, 2-0, on a pair of solo home runs.
Two of the previous three also were at home, against the Mets on April 9, 1981 (that year’s Opening Day), and the Rockies on April 17, 2016.
The one on the road was at Los Angeles vs. the Dodgers on Aug. 22, 2009.
The Cubs have won six such games, most recently on Sept. 9, 2013, at Cincinnati. They won two at home, vs. the Braves in 1925 and the Mets in 2003. The three others on the road were vs. the Mets in 1972, Mariners in 2002 and Braves in 2010.
Beyond all this, a light rain fell throughout the afternoon. Clearly, they had no intention of stopping or postponing this game, because the weather forecast for tomorrow is worse.
If the rain clears the Chicago area by tomorrow evening, these teams will meet again at Wrigley Field. David Peterson will start for the Cubs and Max Fried goes for New York. Game time is 6:15 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Fox-TV (regional — coverage map). A reminder that if you subscribe to MLB.TV or MLB Extra Innings, you can watch this game via those services even if it’s not on the Fox affiliate in your market.
