Cubs' Shota Imanaga shoots for more history vs. Pirates

Shota Imanaga is doing things that no pitcher has done for the Chicago Cubs in more than 100 years.

Shota Imanaga is doing things that no pitcher has done for the Chicago Cubs in more than 100 years.

Imanaga will attempt to continue the historic start to his major league career when host Chicago continues a four-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday afternoon.

By logging five scoreless innings against the Atlanta Braves on Monday, Imanaga brought his ERA down to 0.96. No Cubs pitcher since at least 1912 had a lower ERA through his first eight starts of a season.

The Braves ended up winning 2-0 in Imanaga's most recent outing, but the 30-year-old left-hander escaped with a no-decision to stay undefeated. Imanaga, who is set to face Pittsburgh for the first time, is 5-0 on the year.

If Chicago wants to get Imanaga his sixth win, it will have to turn in a better offensive performance than it did on Friday. The Cubs didn't record a hit until the seventh inning and did all of their scoring in the eighth en route to a 9-3 loss to the Pirates.

Thanks to six no-hit innings and 11 strikeouts from rookie Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh beat Chicago for the second day in a row to open the series.

Each member of the bottom third of the Pirates' lineup -- Yasmani Grandal, Rowdy Tellez and Jared Triolo -- finished with two hits on Friday, with Grandal and Triolo collecting three RBIs apiece. Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton hopes that trio continues to set the tone for the top of the order.

"We need those guys to get going," Shelton said, "so for them to kind of spearhead our offense (Friday) against a guy (Kyle Hendricks) that's been historically tough against us was really important."

Left-hander Bailey Falter (2-2, 4.15 ERA) would benefit from another strong showing from Grandal, Tellez and Triolo, as he is scheduled to make his ninth start of 2024.

Falter also went up against Chicago in his latest start, giving up two runs and five hits in six innings on Sunday. He did not factor into the decision.

In seven career appearances (four starts) vs. the Cubs, Falter is 0-3 with an 8.41 ERA.

When Falter last saw Chicago, second baseman Nico Hoerner was in the Cubs' lineup, and he went 1-for-2 with a run and three walks. Hoerner played the next day against Atlanta before landing on the bench with a left hamstring injury that has caused him to miss the past four games.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell was optimistic that Hoerner would be back in the lineup on Friday, but that didn't happen. Now the hope is that Hoerner will be good to go on Saturday and can avoid a stint on the injured list.

"We'll see how we're doing kind of daily," Counsell said of Hoerner's status. "We're day-to-day with it, but still something there."

Hoerner is hitting .269 with two homers and 12 RBIs through 41 games this season.

Chicago also is dealing with the absence of shortstop Dansby Swanson, who landed on the injured list last week due to a sprained right knee.

The Pirates have had to deal with a banged-up infield, too. They have been without third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes (back) since he last played on May 7, but Nick Gonzales has been among those to step up.

Gonzales is riding a five-game hitting streak, going 6-for-19 (.316) with two homers and four RBIs during that span. He had two hits and an RBI on Friday.

--Field Level Media