Deadspin | Ascending Cubs tap Shota Imanaga to face free-falling Phillies 
Apr 10, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga (18) delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Trending in opposite directions, the Chicago Cubs host the reeling Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday in the second contest of a four-game series.
After Chicago’s 5-1 victory in the opener on Monday, the Cubs extended their winning streak to six — matching the Atlanta Braves for the longest in the majors. Chicago lowered its team ERA to 3.47 on Monday, as the pitching staff has allowed an average of 2.2 runs during the active winning streak.
“We’ve talked about it in this stretch we’re in right now, the starting pitching is the story for me,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “The starting pitching is getting us to a place that makes the relievers’ jobs easier and lets us put the game in order in a good way. So credit to what our starters have done.”
Looking to follow up on Colin Rea’s 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball, left-hander Shota Imanaga (1-1, 2.45 ERA) gets the start on Tuesday. The third-year pitcher has allowed just two runs in 17 innings in April, including a one-run, 11-strikeout performance over six frames an 11-2 win over the Phillies on Wednesday.
Chicago starting pitching surrender just one run in each of the last three victories.
“I think it’s a new good spot right now,” Imanaga said of his confidence ahead of his fourth start of the year. “On the mound, if I do give up a hit, I can break it down right away, see what I did wrong and make those adjustments.”
In two career starts against Philadelphia, Imanaga, 32, is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA.
As uninspiring as the Phillies’ offense looks right now, a second series against the Cubs over the last week is the last thing they needed. Philadelphia’s six-game losing streak is the third longest in baseball (Kansas City has lost eight in a row and the New York Mets have dropped 11 straight contests).
Over that span, the Phillies are averaging just 1.7 runs per contest. Manager Rob Thomson insists his team hasn’t given in to its early-season struggles, despite a 7 1/2-game deficit in the National League East standings.
“The energy has been pretty good. They’re fighting,” Thomson said. “They’re cheering each other on and the energy level has been high. I think there’s a lot of hope in there and there’s a lot of pride.”
Hoping to serve as the club’s stopper, left-hander Jesus Luzardo (1-3, 7.94 ERA) will vie to end a woeful personal stretch in the process. After finishing seventh in NL Cy Young voting a year ago, Luzardo has given up at least five runs in three of his first four starts in his second season in Philadelphia.
Last time out, Luzardo allowed nine runs (eight earned) on 12 hits against Chicago. The 28-year-old’s 12 hits surrendered tied the most he’s given up in 141 appearances as a major leaguer.
Luzardo will make his ninth career start against the Cubs; he’s 4-1 with a 3.54 ERA in this matchup.
–Field Level Media
#Deadspin #Ascending #Cubs #tap #Shota #Imanaga #face #freefalling #Phillies
Apr 10, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga (18) delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Trending in opposite directions, the Chicago Cubs host the reeling Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday in the second contest of a four-game series.
After Chicago’s 5-1 victory in the opener on Monday, the Cubs extended their winning streak to six — matching the Atlanta Braves for the longest in the majors. Chicago lowered its team ERA to 3.47 on Monday, as the pitching staff has allowed an average of 2.2 runs during the active winning streak.
“We’ve talked about it in this stretch we’re in right now, the starting pitching is the story for me,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “The starting pitching is getting us to a place that makes the relievers’ jobs easier and lets us put the game in order in a good way. So credit to what our starters have done.”
Looking to follow up on Colin Rea’s 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball, left-hander Shota Imanaga (1-1, 2.45 ERA) gets the start on Tuesday. The third-year pitcher has allowed just two runs in 17 innings in April, including a one-run, 11-strikeout performance over six frames an 11-2 win over the Phillies on Wednesday.
Chicago starting pitching surrender just one run in each of the last three victories.
“I think it’s a new good spot right now,” Imanaga said of his confidence ahead of his fourth start of the year. “On the mound, if I do give up a hit, I can break it down right away, see what I did wrong and make those adjustments.”
In two career starts against Philadelphia, Imanaga, 32, is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA.
As uninspiring as the Phillies’ offense looks right now, a second series against the Cubs over the last week is the last thing they needed. Philadelphia’s six-game losing streak is the third longest in baseball (Kansas City has lost eight in a row and the New York Mets have dropped 11 straight contests).
Over that span, the Phillies are averaging just 1.7 runs per contest. Manager Rob Thomson insists his team hasn’t given in to its early-season struggles, despite a 7 1/2-game deficit in the National League East standings.
“The energy has been pretty good. They’re fighting,” Thomson said. “They’re cheering each other on and the energy level has been high. I think there’s a lot of hope in there and there’s a lot of pride.”
Hoping to serve as the club’s stopper, left-hander Jesus Luzardo (1-3, 7.94 ERA) will vie to end a woeful personal stretch in the process. After finishing seventh in NL Cy Young voting a year ago, Luzardo has given up at least five runs in three of his first four starts in his second season in Philadelphia.
Last time out, Luzardo allowed nine runs (eight earned) on 12 hits against Chicago. The 28-year-old’s 12 hits surrendered tied the most he’s given up in 141 appearances as a major leaguer.
Luzardo will make his ninth career start against the Cubs; he’s 4-1 with a 3.54 ERA in this matchup.
–Field Level Media
![Sooryavanshi ready for international cricket but must work on technique to become all-format batter: Sanjay Manjrekar Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has become a poster boy for Indian cricket after notable performances in the domestic circuit, the under-19s and in the IPL where he scored a record-breaking century in his debut season (2025) for the Rajasthan Royals.He has taken it one notch higher this term, already accumulating 246 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 236.54 including two fifties. With growing shouts over his inclusion in the Indian team, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar believes he is ready to don the national team colours.“Looking at IPL as a platform, to stake a claim for the Indian T20 team and keeping an eye on his performances in the Syed Mushtaq Ali as well, where he’s got a 100 [vs Maharashtra], I think he’s done enough. If somebody’s lighting up this stage with this performance, then he’s ready,” Manjrekar said on Sportstar’s Insight Edge podcast.However, he explained that his inclusion will not be straightforward due to the long list of openers waiting in the wings for India in the shortest format, including his RR teammate Yashasvi Jaiswal and Test skipper Shubman Gill.“He might be ready, but are the others ready to make way for it? Because there is a huge crowd to bat at number one and two for India currently,” he reasoned.[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58JRdBRAbIk[/embed]The former Mumbai batter pointed out that the Bihar prodigy belongs to the new-age T20 batters, who have the knack of making space to hit the ball. However, he explained that a lot of work had to be done with his technique if he wishes to become an all-format cricketer.“Take all the consistent T20 batters in the last few years, Sooryavanshi will stay leg side and hit a ball on middle stump through point because he’s staying leg side of the ball. In Test cricket, the advice is to get close to the ball. You will not get 20 runs in England or Australia, South Africa by staying away from the ball,” he opined.He further added, “If you want your kid to be famous and rich, T20 batting is for you. If you want him to get the respect of people like us, the critics, then get him to get close to the line of the ball.”Published on Apr 21, 2026 #Sooryavanshi #ready #international #cricket #work #technique #allformat #batter #Sanjay #Manjrekar](https://i2.wp.com/ss-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/50lqfv/article70888348.ece/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1200/2150_19_4_2026_16_16_32_1_IPL_19042026_05.JPG?ssl=1 "Sooryavanshi ready for international cricket but must work on technique to become all-format batter: Sanjay Manjrekar Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has become a poster boy for Indian cricket after notable performances in the domestic circuit, the under-19s and in the IPL where he scored a record-breaking century in his debut season (2025) for the Rajasthan Royals.He has taken it one notch higher this term, already accumulating 246 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 236.54 including two fifties. With growing shouts over his inclusion in the Indian team, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar believes he is ready to don the national team colours.“Looking at IPL as a platform, to stake a claim for the Indian T20 team and keeping an eye on his performances in the Syed Mushtaq Ali as well, where he’s got a 100 [vs Maharashtra], I think he’s done enough. If somebody’s lighting up this stage with this performance, then he’s ready,” Manjrekar said on Sportstar’s Insight Edge podcast.However, he explained that his inclusion will not be straightforward due to the long list of openers waiting in the wings for India in the shortest format, including his RR teammate Yashasvi Jaiswal and Test skipper Shubman Gill.“He might be ready, but are the others ready to make way for it? Because there is a huge crowd to bat at number one and two for India currently,” he reasoned.[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58JRdBRAbIk[/embed]The former Mumbai batter pointed out that the Bihar prodigy belongs to the new-age T20 batters, who have the knack of making space to hit the ball. However, he explained that a lot of work had to be done with his technique if he wishes to become an all-format cricketer.“Take all the consistent T20 batters in the last few years, Sooryavanshi will stay leg side and hit a ball on middle stump through point because he’s staying leg side of the ball. In Test cricket, the advice is to get close to the ball. You will not get 20 runs in England or Australia, South Africa by staying away from the ball,” he opined.He further added, “If you want your kid to be famous and rich, T20 batting is for you. If you want him to get the respect of people like us, the critics, then get him to get close to the line of the ball.”Published on Apr 21, 2026 #Sooryavanshi #ready #international #cricket #work #technique #allformat #batter #Sanjay #Manjrekar")
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