The San Diego Padres forced a crucial winner-take-all finale on Wednesday when they defeated the Chicago Cubs 3-0. A major reason for the win was due to a masterclass pitching performance from the entire staff, and a two-run home run by Manny Machado in the 5th inning to put the icing on the cake.
For Game 2, manager Craig Counsell decided to go with an opener, Andrew Kittredge, ahead of Shota Imanaga. Kittredge pitched a clean inning in Game 1, but he allowed the first run of the contest in the 1st inning by a sac-fly from Jackson Merrill. Imanaga replaced him in the second inning. The idea behind the opener was to give Imanaga one less opportunity to face the 1-5 hitters in the San Diego lineup. Imanaga pitched well until the fifth inning, when Machado (batting 3rd) stepped up to the plate with Fernando Tatis Jr. on second base.
With two outs in the inning, Counsell decided to leave his star pitcher on the mound.
In an article from The Athletic, Sahadev Sharma broke down what Counsill said postgame about the decision.
“Look, the result suggested we should have done something different,” Counsell said. “Really just confidence in Shota, plain and simple, there. I thought he was pitching well, I thought he was throwing really well. Unfortunately, he made a mistake.”
The loss is not on Imanaga, as clearly the Cubs could not score a run. The offense must improve if they want to take down former Cub Yu Darvish on Thursday.
The same can be said about the Padres' offense. Even Machado is aware that the offense isn't playing up to par, including himself. Before the homer, he was hitless in the series.
“I don’t put a manager’s cap on,” Machado said. “I’m 0-for-6 at that point. So yeah, I’m not thinking about (being walked). For myself, I was just thinking about trying to get to Imanaga.”
The Cubs are sending Jameson Taillon for Game 3 against Yu Darvish for the Friars. The winner will head to Milwaukee for a best-of-five NLDS series.
