Tuesday notes…
WINNING BIG: Sunday’s 11-0 win over the Cardinals was the third this season in which the Cubs scored at least 10 runs and gave up none. It was the first such game at home, following wins by 16-0 at Los Angeles vs. the Dodgers and by 10-0 at Milwaukee. The Cubs enjoyed three double-digit shutouts among their first 90 games in only one previous season, 1969, when they won 19-0 at home vs. the Padres, 11-0 at Houston and 10-0 at Philadelphia. They had two such games in four seasons: 1928, 1972, 2019 and 2020. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
THAT OTHER LEAGUE: Since 2015, the Cubs have a winning percentage of .548 at American League parks, much better than their .491 at NL parks other than Wrigley Field. Only four teams have had more success in interleague road games since 2015: the Red Sox (.609), Dodgers (.600), Astros (.560) and Rays (.558). The Braves are sixth, 22 points behind the Cubs, at .526. The Cardinals and Yankees are at .507; the Blue Jays and Padres, .500. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
CUBS LEAGUE RANKING NOTE: The Cubs go into today leading all teams in both runs scored per game, 5.47, and hits per game, 8.91. The Dodgers are second in both, at 5.45 and 8.87. The Cubs are second to the Dodgers in total runs, 492 to 501, and hits, 802 to 816, but the Cubs’ 90 games are two fewer than the Dodgers have played. The Cubs are third behind the Yankees and Dodgers in home runs (136) and homers per game (1.51). They are second behind the Rays in steals (106) and steals per game (1.18). (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
THE NICO FILES: Nico Hoerner, last 13 games since June 23: .311/.392/.578 (14-for-45) with a double, a triple, three home runs, two stolen bases and 10 runs scored.
Here are today’s particulars.
Cubs lineup:
Twins lineup:
Shōta Imanaga, LHP vs. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP
Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
Chris Tilley-Imagn Images
Shōta Imanaga served up three home runs to the Guardians in his last start, but those were all the runs he allowed. He’s returned from his hamstring injury well, with no signs it’s still bothering him.
Last year against the Twins, Aug. 6 at Wrigley Field, Imanaga allowed two runs in seven innings with 10 strikeouts. We’ll take another one of those, please.
While Simeon Woods Richardson has never been in the Cubs organization, he was involved in a trade with a future Cub (Anthony Kay) for another future Cub (Marcus Stroman) when sent from the Mets, who had drafted him in the second round in 2018, to the Blue Jays. Toronto sent him to the Twins for José Berrios in 2021.
This year, Richardson has a 4.41 ERA and 1.342 WHIP in 13 appearances (12 starts). He has never faced the Cubs and only three current Cubs have ever faced him.
Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. You can find out if Marquee is available via a provider in your area here.
Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Twins site Twinkie Town. If you do go there to interact with Twins fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.
The 2025 Game Thread procedure will be identical to last year’s.
You’ll find the game preview posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game, including the First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread, as well as the recap when it’s published. The recap will also live on the front page as a separate post.
You will also be able to find the preview, First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread in the box marked “Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
The First Pitch thread will post at five minutes before game time, then an overflow thread at 90 minutes after the scheduled game time.
Discuss amongst yourselves.