Braves return home to fight with the Cubs

Reynaldo López vs. Shōta Imanaga. This should be fun!

After a nationally televised walk-off helped foil the plans for a sweep in New York, the Atlanta Braves are now heading home, hoping to recoup their losses by taking their emotions out on the visiting Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs will start Shōta Imanaga in tonight’s game, thus the Braves should not expect a simple victory. While it’s still early in the season, it’s evident that Imanaga has made a smooth transition from NPB to MLB – he presently has an ERA of 1.08 (ERA- of 27) and a FIP of 2.37 (FIP- of 61), and he’s in the top ten in fWAR among starting pitchers thus far. So far, Imanaga has started seven games for the Cubs, and he has been the winning pitcher of record in five of them. Chicago has won all seven of his starts.

Shōta Imanaga’s four-seamer has been practically untouchable this season, and he’s been depending on it alongside a split finger pitch, which has also been effective when he uses it. Opposing batters are hitting.140 against Imanaga’s four-seamer, with an xBA of.219, and.214 against his splitter, with an xBA of.177. He also does not overwhelm anyone with his velocity, since his fastball averages 92 mph and the rest of his repertoire averages less than 90 mph. So far, he’s making pitches and executing them almost flawlessly. He’s currently in the 97th percentile when it comes to getting hitters to chase his stuff and it really wouldn’t be shocking to see a bunch of swings-and-misses while he’s on the mound tonight.

This appears to be another difficult matchup for the Braves, coming only one week after welcome Kutter Crawford to Cobb County; nevertheless, the Braves did manage to get Crawford to give up a home run and ultimately won that game. To keep the Braves quiet at their home ballpark, Shōta Imanaga will need to be at his best against this formidable lineup.

On the other hand, Reynaldo López is getting another start, and he’ll be hoping to extend his recent run of good fortune. Six days ago, López allowed only two runs (one earned) in 5.1 innings against the Red Sox, a game the Braves finally won 4-2. López may wish to reduce his walks, given they were what put him in trouble on his way out of the aforementioned game versus Boston.

It could get him in trouble if he continues to do so against the Cubs, whose offense has a walk rate of 10.1 percent, tied for third in baseball. The Cubs showed patience over the weekend, scoring seven runs in the fifth inning of their 10-9 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday, six of which were bases-loaded walks.

While I would be amazed if the “feat” was repeated tonight, it serves as a warning tale, demonstrating that this squad will be extremely patient at the plate if necessary. The Cubs’ offense is also rather good, with a team wRC+ of 106, putting them in the top ten in baseball and trailing only the Braves, who have a wRC+ of 110. Simply put, both pitchers will face significant challenges in keeping these two lineups quiet. It’s one of those games where you can see a pitcher’s duel breaking out but you can also easily see a scenario where this could end up with both teams banging the ball all over the yard.

So, yes, this should be an exciting game to watch. The Braves returned to form this week, and the Cubs are on a roll heading into Cobb County after winning a series in Pittsburgh last weekend. Both teams are looking excellent so far, but someone has to lose—hopefully not the Braves.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Monday, May 13, 7:20 p.m. ET

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, Georgia

TV: Bally Sports South, MLB Network (out-of-market only)

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan