Game Recap: Imanaga deals, but Cubs offense stalls in loss to Cards

Jeff Curry - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 8 hours ago

St. LOUIS - It is a mystery for what has happened to the Chicago Cubs (67-50) since the All-Star break. In what is starting to become a broken record, the Cubs continue to get great starting pitching capable of winning most games, only to have their offense put together lackluster at-bats for extended periods.

That was once again the case at Busch Stadium on Sunday night as the Cubs wasted another fine Shota Imanaga start to fall to the St. Louis Cardinals (60-59) 3-2. The loss now puts the Cubs six games out of first place in the NL Central, as they are closer to missing the playoffs altogether than they are to winning this division.

Once the wet weather cleared out and this game could finally get underway, it unfolded the way many expected it to, as this was by far the best pitching matchup of the series, with Imanaga taking the ball against Cardinals Ace right-hander Sonny Gray. Both pitchers were on top of their games, pitching into the seventh as they combined for one walk and 16 punchouts.

Nine of those strikeouts came from Imanaga, who lasted 6 2/3 innings and allowed three runs as he was saddled with an extremely tough loss. As bad as things have been for the Cardinals this season, the one constant is getting quality outings from Gray, who now has 11 wins on the season.

Not to mention the strong run of success he has had against the Cubs and the Cardinals, who came into this game with plenty of confidence that they could find a way to steal another win. The Cubs had Gray on the ropes in the first with Seiya Suzuki picking up a one-out single ahead of a two-out Carson Kelly walk, only to have the offense stall in the end.

Considering that both Gray and Imanaga went on to strike out the side in the second and third innings, with Gray striking out four consecutive hitters at one point and you had a sense that runs were going to be at a premium in this one. With things still tied at zero in the third, the Cardinals were finally able to get something going off Imanaga as Thomas Saggese led things off with a single.

One batter later, and it was Pedro Pages delivering the big blow off Imanaga as he touched up the left-hander for a two-run shot that gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead. Little did they know, those would be their only runs of the game until late, but with Gray keeping the Cubs off the board through four innings, it was starting to feel as if those two runs would be enough to get the job done.

The key to this game came in the fourth inning, and it came after Pete Crow-Armstrong reached base with a single. Armstrong managed to steal second base shortly after before getting picked off by Gray for a huge second out as the Cubs remained scoreless through four. Then came the fifth inning when the bottom of the order did the trick for the Cubs as Dansby Swanson benefited from a fielding error that allowed him to reach base and helped set things up for the Cubs' offense.

While most of the Cubs' hitters continue to struggle, Matt Shaw is the one guy in this lineup who isn't struggling, and the Cubs would like it if everyone else could figure out a way to do what he is doing. Not only has Shaw turned it around by making more consistent contact, but his power is starting to show up as he took Gray deep for his ninth homer of the season and brought things back to even 2-2.

Those would be the only runs Gray would allow the rest of the way, as he allowed with a Nico Hoerner seventh inning single as the lone baserunner to reach on Gray, only to have a double play put an end to the potential scoring chance. Following the two-run homer that Imanaga allowed in the third, the left-hander got into arguably his best groove of the season as he went on to retire the next 14 hitters he faced.

That streak came to an end in the seventh as a Jordan Walker single gave the Cardinals their first base runner since the second inning and a chance to take the lead. Walker took it upon himself to reach scoring position by stealing sixth base of the season before coming home to score on the Nolan Gorman single that put the Cardinals back on top for good, 3-2.

Gorman was the final hitter Imanaga would face in this one as he turned things over to Brad Keller, who took care of the final 1 1/3 innings for the Cubs. Sometimes, all it takes for an offense to get going is seeing a dominating starting pitcher exit the game, which is the case for the Cubs in the eighth inning.

After Riley O'Brien retired the first two hitters he faced, Suzuki kept the inning alive by working a walk, only to have Kyle Tucker move him into scoring position with a single. Needing a hit at the very least to tie the game, O'Brien was able to keep the Cardinals in front as Kelly grounded out to Willson Contreras to put an end to the threat.

Still trailing by a run in the ninth, the Cubs had their chances against Jojo Romero, and that all started with a one-out walk to Justin Turner as the tying run was on base. Turner was lifted in favor of Jon Berti, who proceeded to try and steal second, only to be gunned down by Pages. To show how costly that play was, both Hoerner and Swanson singled shortly after, and instead of having the game tied, the Cubs were still trailing by a run and had two runners on base.

That was as close as things would get as Romero got Shaw to ground out to end the game as the Cubs missed another opportunity and dropped another game in the standings, 3-2. With eight hits, the Cubs had their opportunities as Hoerner and Swanson led the way with two. Things won't get any easier for the Cubs as they get the day off on Monday before traveling north of the border to take on the American League best Toronto Blue Jays.