Thursday notes…
- STREAKING THE WRONG WAY: The Cubs have lost eight consecutive games at home. This is their 17th streak of at least eight straight losses at home since 1901. The most recent was a team-record 13 games July 27-Aug. 22, 2021. That eclipsed the 12 in a row to start the 1994 season, which had topped the 11 games July 25-Aug. 22, 1902. They have had two streaks of 10 games and three streaks of nine, two of them in 2006 and 2021. This is their ninth of eight. The most recent to end at eight was Aug. 6-20, 2010. The seven before then all were between 1938 and 1974. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
- HISTORY, THE WRONG WAY: With their losses in the last the three games, the Cubs have fallen below .500 — since Opening Day of 2021, the first full season after the pandemic: 435 wins and 437 losses. They were: 71-91 in 2021 (20 games below .500); 74-88 in 2022 (14 below, total of -34); 83-79 in 2023 (4 above, total of -30); 83-79 in 2024 (4 above, total of -26); 92-70 in 2025 (22 above, total of -4); 32-30 in 2026 (2 above, total of -2). In 2015-20, the Cubs were 140 games above .500, with 505 wins, 365 losses and 1 tie, for a percentage of .580. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
- STREAKING PCA: Pete Crow-Armstrong is on an eight-game hitting streak in which he is batting .343/.410/.600 (12-for-35) with three doubles, two home runs, five RBI and six runs scored.
- TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Fergie Jenkins throws a three-hit shutout, striking out six, and the Cubs thrash the Braves 11-0 in Atlanta. Joe Pepitone goes 4-for-6 with a home run and three RBI. It happened 55 years ago today, Friday, June 4, 1971.
Cubs lineup:
Athletics lineup:
Shōta Imanaga, LHP vs. J.T. Ginn, RHP
Didn’t we just do this Tuesday? Shōta Imanaga’s last three starts have been just awful. He’s allowed 21 hits and five walks (1.660 WHIP) in 15.2 innings, with 20 (!) earned runs (11.49 ERA) and eight home runs. He was striking out a lot of guys earlier in the season (28 percent
K rate over his first nine starts) but that has plunged to just 13.7 percent over those last three starts, suggesting… I dunno, velocity drop? Injury? Both?
In any case, it’s not good.
His only career start vs. the A’s was Sept. 16, 2024 at Wrigley Field. He allowed two runs in seven innings (a two-run homer by Brent Rooker) and struck out 11.
It would be nice for Shōta to get back there.
J.T. Ginn has been the A’s best starter this year since he joined their rotation in mid-April. In 10 starts since then: 2.56 ERA, 1.139 WHIP, has allowed more than two runs just once in that 10-start span.
One thing he’s had a bit of trouble with is walks — his 24 walks among 213 batters faced as a starter this year is an 11.3 percent walk rate, which is kind of high. So maybe the Cubs can, for once, be patient?
Ginn has never faced the Cubs and only two Cubs (Alex Bregman, 1-for-2 and Carson Kelly, 0-for-2) have ever seen him.
One potentially good thing: Ginn is right-handed, the first RH starter the Cubs have seen in this series. They are 25-21 vs. RH starters this year, just 7-9 vs. LH starters.
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Here is the weather forecast for the area around Wrigley Field.
Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.
Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
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