The Chicago Cubs are hot in the Wild Card race as they maintain their spot firmly behind the Brewers in the National League Central, but one link in their new and improved pitching staff remains a squeaky wheel. Shota Imanaga, normally a steady left handed arm for the Cubs, has recently been struggling on the mound.
Imanaga has always been a threat to give up a long ball. It was a known thing even before he came to Chicago. But Imanaga has always been good enough to have the good outweigh the bad. But recently, a few starts haven't gone the way he would have hoped, and the most recent one was potentially enough to lose the Cubs the game.
Shota pitched five innings on Sunday, and with it came three separate home runs. It was the second time in August that he gave up three dingers in a single game. It pushed him to six different games this year in which he gave up at least three homers, and it's the most ever by a left hander in a single season.
Tonight marks the 6th time this year Shota Imanaga has allowed 3 or more homers in a game.
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) August 31, 2026
That's the most by any lefty in a single season in MLB history. pic.twitter.com/ZTc0dHSpe3
There's a lot of records in baseball. When every stat is being tracked religiously by the MLB or the respective fanbases, and a league as old as this one, there's bound to be shameful records. But to have this many games with that many home runs is something that may require some sort of coach intervention.
"You know, the math doesn't really work there as far as having a good start, right? We know Shota gives up, he's gonna give up home runs. That's just part of it. It's the nature of his repertoire. You know, you give up three in a starts, yeah, you're behind the eight ball. "Craig Counsell
With the season speeding rapidly toward the finish line, and a couple extremely important series against the Brewers upcoming, the Cubs need Imanaga to return to his previous form. Counsell quickly dismissed the idea of Shota missing any starts, but if this streak continues, there may be difficult decisions to be made for a playoff rotation.
The Cubs aren't a team to waste good pitching, except when they're okay sending Javier Assad to Iowa. The issues that the Cubs faced with pitching this season caused a large hole in the schedule, but it also caused several pitchers to step up when needed, and none of them stepped up as well as Assad did.
If Imanaga can get his act together, the fans will rally to him. We're all well aware that Shota's an excellent pitcher when he's on form. There's a certain amount of home runs a pitcher can expect in the MLB, but lately, it's just been too much. With the Cubs on the brink of a playoff run on the coattails of the Brewers, they'll need all of their pitchers, Imanaga included, to really bring their A-game.
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