Imanaga stays hot in Cubs win over Minnesota

As the Cubs search for more pitching at the trade deadline, the top of the rotation is starting to get healthier and more consistent.

One day after another quality start by Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga threw seven shutout innings Sunday in a 10-1 win over the Minnesota Twins before 37,205 at Wrigley Field.

Jameson Taillon will return from his injured list stint Monday night against the Detroit Tigers, hoping to keep the chain going, though he might be limited in his pitch count.

The longer the starters can go, the less manager Craig Counsell has to rely on a patchwork bullpen.

Imanaga (6-8) has a 2.30 ERA over his last seven starts, allowing five home runs. He said going over data points with the pitching coaches has helped him figure out how to get the most out of his arsenal, which he used effectively in his All-Star season in 2024.

“I feel like I’m not a complete pitcher yet,” he said through his interpreter. “I’m not the final product, but I’m very confident I can get better and better.”

The Cubs scored all 10 runs in the first four innings, while Imanaga allowed six hits and one walk in his longest outing since May 13 at Atlanta, also a seven-inning performance. He’s among the major-league leaders in innings pitched with 122.0.

He’s also tied for fourth-worst among all pitchers with 22 home runs allowed, and is trying to limit the damage by not giving them up with runners on base.

“That’s important,” Counsell said. “Shota is going to give up home runs. That’s the nature of his arsenal. But when they come and how they come, that has to be a part of it … it’s a good start.”

Alex Bregman hit a two-run home run in the first, his third in five games since the Cincinnati series before the All-Star break. Nico Hoerner added a bases-clearing triple in the third that center fielder Luke Keaschall misplayed, and had 4 RBI on the afternoon, as the Cubs took their third-straight series and improved to 22-9 since June 11.

Bregman also made another defensive gem at third, continuing to excel in that area.

“I feel like I’ve been really good compartmentalizing when it’s not going well offensively,” Bregman said. “And when it is going well offensively to continue to focus on defense and separate the different phases of the game.”

David Peterson and Colin Rea will follow Taillon in the rotation against the Tigers.

Best advice is no advice

Theo Epstein was asked by a reporter Saturday if he had any advice for Jed Hoyer, his longtime friend and successor as Cubs president.

“I think they’re doing a heck of a job,” Epstein said of the Cubs front office. “Jed and his group have brought in a ton of talent, and they’re on their own journey. It’s never easy. They’ve lost so much starting pitching to injury, and they’re solidly in a playoff spot. It’s a great position player group.

“So this is a special franchise. It continues to be, it will be and there’s no doubt they’re going to add more championships there.”

Epstein, a part-owner of the Boston Red Sox, said he has no intention of getting back into a position where he is running an organization on a daily basis. He moved out east from Chicago in 2022 and this was his first extensive visit back to Wrigley since leaving the city.

“This is nice, but I love my life right now, too,” he said. “I’ve got plans for where I am right now. I’ve got a perfect balance, where it’s a very fulfilling mix of professional roles, and I also have an amazing family. I get to spend time with them, and my oldest is getting ready to go off to college, so it’s right where I want to be.”

Desperate times

The acquisition of A’s starter Aaron Civale on Saturday was a deal that suggests the lack of pitching depth in the farm system is even worse than advertised. Civale went on the IL in late May with right shoulder tendinitis and had a 9.96 ERA over his last seven outings with the A’s, allowing 10 home runs in 28 innings.

He’s the second ex-Cubs pitcher from ’25 recently added to the roster, after the pickup of left-hander Drew Pomeranz, who threw a scoreless ninth on Sunday.

Pomeranz was the opener last October in Game 5 of the National League Division Series against Milwaukee, while Civale pitched in long relief in Game 1. The Cubs are hoping the familiarity of the pitching coaches can help both turn their seasons around.

“I think it makes it easier for Aaron for sure,” Counsell said. “And he’s going to be here and he’s struggled of late for sure and we’ll take a look at that and we’ll probably shorten up his outings and go from there.”

Counsell said he expects Civale to arrive in the next few days.

Low-key look back

Hoyer was relatively low-key in the public celebration of the 2016 Cubs, even though he was general manager of the team at the time. He’s more focused on the trade deadline and getting the ’26 Cubs into the postseason, and celebrated the 10-year anniversary in his off-hours.

“I think that times when I’ve been fortunate enough to win, you deserve those moments,” Hoyer said. “You sort of put them up on a shelf in your mind and move on. I don’t wear my rings. I don’t … well, I know where they are.

“The job (now) is sort of the next one and focusing on that part of it. But it’s nice every once in a while where something like this comes up and it sort of forces you to take the book off the shelf and go through it and you always find (the stories).

“We were doing some documentary stuff and I did a bunch of filming one day and I have these really cool books that my wife made. We were looking through them and I was like ‘Oh my god.’ We sit here all the time and I don’t look through them on a daily basis. I’m going through them and it was an awesome period. It was fun to relive it for a little bit and sort of go back to focusing on now.”