CINCINNATI — When the Chicago Cubs signed lefty Shota Imanaga before last season, they knew his pitch mix and track record in Japan would likely yield home runs.
His uptick in home runs allowed in Year 2 has Imanaga searching for ways to better limit the long ball with the postseason — and likely his first playoff outing — less than two weeks away. In his penultimate regular-season start, the Cincinnati Reds slugged three solo home runs off Imanaga, who gave up four runs over five innings in the Cubs’ 7-4 loss Friday at Great American Ball Park. The Reds tagged reliever Porter Hodge for three runs in the sixth to break the tie.
Despite the loss, the Cubs magic number to clinch the top National League wild-card spot dropped to four thanks to the White Sox beating the Padres. The Cubs (88-66) would host the No. 5 seed, currently San Diego, in a wild-card series at Wrigley Field.
Imanaga’s 29 home runs allowed this year are tied for fourth most in the majors, though only two of the pitchers who have surrendered at least that many have thrown fewer innings than his 139.
“That’s something I’ve been trying to work on, but it seems like the opposing hitters have the upper hand there,” Imanaga said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “So I need to continue making judgments.”
Most of the home runs Imanaga has given up have come off his four-seam fastball. Of those 29 long balls, his splitter has been responsible for seven of them while the other 22 were against his fastball, including all three Reds home runs Friday. Asked to evaluate what adjustments he is trying to make to cut down on the home runs, Imanaga said he must take a deeper look at the potential issue but believes he needs either to change his pitch usage or have better execution with his fastball.
Carson Kelly, behind the plate Friday night, tried to work backward more with the game calling and pitch sequencing. He thought Imanaga looked good even with the home runs, a sentiment manager Craig Counsell echoed. As he broke down the three home runs the Reds hit, Counsell felt Matt McLain’s tying blast in the third was the only one that featured a mistake pitch.
“He pitched really well other than that,” Counsell said. “But those two (other) homers, they were a little confusing to me. I thought they were pretty good pitches that normally he gets fly balls on.”
The Cubs are encouraged at least that most of the damage with Imanaga’s home runs rarely features runners on base. He still often gives the Cubs a quality start because the home runs he allows are solo shots. Only five of the 29 have come with runners on (four two-run home runs and one three-run shot). The majority of runs allowed by Imanaga are via the long ball: 21 runs scored on non-homers and 33 through homers.
As catcher, Kelly plans to think outside the box through his role in helping cut down on Imanaga’s home runs. He noted the in-game adjustments they made Friday against the Reds and expected to sit down with Imanaga on Saturday to go over the game and discuss what they could do better moving forward. The propensity of homers off his heater likely will be a focal point that Imanaga will work on in his next bullpen to try to better locate the pitch at the top of the zone.
Kelly believes positive self-talk and reinforcing the importance of giving the team a chance to win are valuable ways to help a pitcher navigate the tough moments.
“And then being honest, like, this is not there today, we need to go a different direction,” Kelly told the Tribune. “So I think honest feedback is the way to go. That is something we’ll talk about tomorrow.”
Imanaga is positioned to make one more start next week before the postseason gets underway Sept. 30. Post-playoff berth, Counsell didn’t want to delve into who might start what games in the wild-card series, but Imanaga, despite the long balls, appears to be well-positioned to get the ball one of those games.
“That’s something I’ve been looking forward to, and I think it’s going to be a very important part in a baseball career,” Imanaga said. “And hopefully I can use that moment to use as experience the rest of my baseball career.”
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