BALTIMORE — The sixth inning has posed a challenge lately for Chicago Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga.
In his last two outings against the San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies, Imanaga gave up five total runs that erased Cubs leads both times. He again found himself in a precarious position during the sixth inning on a muggy Wednesday night at Camden Yards.
The Baltimore Orioles put runners on second and third with one out as Imanaga tried to escape with a three-run lead intact. After a mound visit from pitching coach Tommy Hottovy, Imanaga struck out Austin Hays looking and got Jorge Mateo to whiff at a splitter down and away to end the threat and his outing.
Imanaga’s six shutout innings backed an offense that scored three runs off Orioles ace Corbin Burnes to secure a 4-0 victory. The result gave the Cubs (44-49) three wins in a row for the first time since April 23-26 and five in their last six games.
As Imanaga started to walk off the field after the back-to-back strikeouts to end his night, he pointed to catcher Miguel Amaya and patted his chest to acknowledge that he made mistakes in the inning on what Imanaga believed was great pitch sequencing from his catcher.
“That was a situation I created on my own,” Imanaga said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry.
Amaya credited Imanaga and his ability to make adjustments within the inning after missing with a couple of splitters over the middle of the plate.
“He’s so good at what he does, especially making those quick adjustments right after a bad pitch,” Amaya said. “You’ve seen him so far during the season what he’s capable to do out there and he did an amazing job tonight.”
Imanaga lowered his ERA to 2.97 and has given up one earned run or fewer in 10 of his 17 starts. He’s allowed only more than three earned runs twice. With him not in line to start again before Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas, Imanaga could pitch in the game as the Cubs’ lone representative.
“I want to pay back to all the guys that supported me,” Imanaga said. “And so the fact that I get the chance to be in the All-Star Game, I’m just very thankful for everyone who helped me. … It’s a great learning experience to get there.”
While the offense put together some good at-bats in the win, Cody Bellinger exited the game after taking a 97-mph sinker from Orioles reliever Cionel Pérez off his left middle finger in the top of the seventh. Although Bellinger initially stayed in, he tested his finger before heading out for the bottom half of the inning. Bellinger gripped a baseball in the dugout and couldn’t trust himself if he needed to make a throw from right field, prompting manager Craig Counsell to replace him with Miles Mastrobuoni.
Asked whether there is concern he is dealing with more than just swelling in the finger, Bellinger said there are positives and negatives to the situation.
“It’s just super swollen right now, the range of motion is pretty good,” Bellinger said. “But I’ve learned that you’ve got to wait for the CT scan until you can make any opinions on it.”
With Pete Crow-Armstrong returning to the lineup Wednesday night after missing four games because of stitches for a cut on his left thumb, the Cubs can rest Bellinger as needed over the next four days leading into the four-day All-Star break. That option clearly changes, though, if tests reveal Bellinger did suffer a fracture in his finger and requires time on the injured list.
