Chicago Cubs at Baltimore Orioles

· Major League Baseball

Chicago Cubs

44-49, 19-28 Away

Final
4 - 0

Baltimore Orioles

57-35, 29-19 Home

Shota Imanaga outpitches Corbin Burnes to carry Cubs past Orioles 4-0

Corbin Burnes slides off mound for impressive barehanded web gem

Imanaga (8-2) allowed six hits over six innings, striking out six with one walk. The Orioles went 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position against the left-hander.

“They have some really good hitters,” Imanaga said through an interpreter. “And going against Corbin Burnes, there's a lot I can learn from him.”

Imanaga is the first Cubs rookie to be selected to play in the All-Star Game since Kris Bryant in 2015 and the first Japanese-born Cub to make the team since Kosuke Fukudome in 2018.

Burnes (9-4) gave up three runs and nine hits over six innings, walking none and striking out five. Next week he will be heading to Texas for his fourth All-Star Game, the first with Baltimore.

The right-hander pitched well enough, but Chicago found a way to scratch out enough runs to win.

“We did a nice job,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “Mo took a big swing with the home run and we did a nice job putting together a couple rallies. (Burnes is) a good pitcher. We got three runs off him, and we pitched wonderfully.”

The Cubs, who came to town with a 3-10-1 record in road series, now are in position to complete a three-game sweep of the AL East-leading Orioles on Thursday night.

Morel put Chicago up 1-0 with his 16th homer of the season in the second inning. The next two batters singled before Nico Hoerner delivered an RBI single.

Michael Busch doubled and scored on a Seiya Suzuki in the fifth for a 3-0 lead.

Baltimore put runners on second and third with one out in the sixth before Imanaga completed his impressive outing by striking out Austin Hays and Jorge Mateo.

“The sixth inning was great. He just bore down,” Counsell said. “That was a heck of a way to finish a heck of a start.”

Imanaga said, “It was a situation I created on my own. I was glad I was able to get those strikeouts.”

After a 19-minute rain delay in the bottom of the seventh, Luke Little struck out Adley Rutschman with two runners on and Porter Hodge retired Ryan Mountcastle, who had a three-hit game.

Baltimore has been outscored 13-2 in the series and has scored three runs or fewer in seven of its last 11 games.

“I just think at times we’re getting a little too big and trying to get the big hit," manager Brandon Hyde said. "I think it’s going to turn around for us.”

TRAINER'S ROOM

Cubs: RHP Kyle Hendricks, who left his last outing with back tightness, will start Friday in St. Louis, Counsell said. Hendricks pitched only two innings Saturday against the Angels before experiencing spasms in his lower back.

Justin Steele (1-3, 2.95 ERA) starts for the Cubs on Thursday night. Steele is coming off his first career complete game, a two-hitter against the Angels. Albert Suárez (5-2, 2.48) pitches for Baltimore.

How can I watch Chicago Cubs vs. Baltimore Orioles?

TV Channel: Cubs at Orioles 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.tv.
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Matchup Prediction

Orioles: 69.1%

Cubs: 30.9%

*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

	9th Inning	Henderson grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Kjerstad out at second.
	9th Inning	Kjerstad singled to right.
	9th Inning	Kjerstad hit for McCann
	9th Inning	Cowser struck out swinging.
	9th Inning	Neris relieved Hodge
	9th Inning	Mastrobuoni grounded out to first.

Statistics

CHC		BAL
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
1	Hit By Pitch	1
17	Ground Balls	10
8	Strikeouts	8
4	Runs Batted In	0
0	Sacrifice Hit	0
11	Hits	9
2	Stolen Bases	0
0	Walks	1
0	Catcher Interference	0
4	Runs	0
0	Ground Into Double Play	1
0	Sacrifice Flies	0
38	At Bats	35
1	Home Runs	0
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
14	Runners Left On Base	23
0	Triples	0
1	Game Winning RBIs	0
0	Intentional Walks	0
3	Doubles	3
13	Fly Balls	17
0	Caught Stealing	0
142	Pitches	144
0	Games Started	0
0	Pinch At Bats	2
0	Pinch Hits	1
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
1	Is Qualified In Steals	0
17	Total Bases	12
39	Plate Appearances	37
162.0	Projected Home Runs	0.0
4	Extra Base Hits	3
5.6	Runs Created	3.3
.289	Batting Average	.257
.000	Pinch Hit Average	.500
.447	Slugging Percentage	.343
.211	Secondary Average	.114
.308	On Base Percentage	.297
.755	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.640
1.3	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	0.6
5.6	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	3.3
38.0	Batter Rating	15.0
38.0	At Bats Per Home Run	0.0
1.00	Stolen Base Percentage	0.00
3.64	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	3.89
.158	Isolated Power	.086
0.00	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	0.13
.000	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.027
-.079	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	-.143
8.0	Runs Produced	0.0
1.0	Runs Ratio	0.0
0.5	Patience Ratio	0.4
0.3	Balls In Play Average	0.3
87.0	MLB Rating	72.0
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0