SAN FRANCISCO – With September looming, the Cubs had the distinction of being the only Major League team this season not to have been swept in a series of at least three games. That streak was a snapshot into Chicago’s steadiness, even through the year’s ups and downs.
On Thursday, the North Siders were dealt a 4-3 loss to the Giants in walk-off fashion -- Jung Hoo Lee applied the period with a game-winning single off Cubs closer Daniel Palencia -- to finish a three-game sweep. After sweeping the Angels to begin this road trip, it was a discouraging development for Chicago.
“We’ve been really resilient,” Cubs left fielder Ian Happ said. “Obviously, coming off a sweep and then getting swept is a little frustrating. And for us, [we’ve been] taking a lot of pride this year in not letting that happen -- even when we’ve struggled a little bit, taking one from a series.”
Cubs manager Craig Counsell had a succinct summation for what took place in San Francisco.
“Look, we’ve got to score more,” said Counsell, who was ejected in the third inning for arguing balls and strikes. “In this series, we didn’t help our pitching staff out enough by getting some runs on the board.”
Here are three developments within Thursday’s loss:
Imanaga’s quality outing
Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga sent an elevated fastball to Willy Adames in the first inning and the Giants shortstop hammered the pitch into the left-field stands. In the sixth, Imanaga climbed the ladder even more, but Adames was once again able to attack the high heater -- this one above the zone -- for a homer to left.
That was the extent of the damage done against Imanaga in his seven innings.
“It’s two pitches. Simple as that,” Counsell said. “He pitched brilliantly.”
Imanaga has been on a strong run dating back to his return from the injured list on June 26, logging a 3.24 ERA in 72 1/3 innings in that span. The lefty has played a key role in the Cubs’ rotation posting MLB’s lowest ERA (3.14) since June 25, entering Thursday. Imanaga was solid again on Thursday, but walked away with a no-decision for his work.
Adames’ first home run off Imanaga came on the first pitch. The second blast came on an 0-2 offering that the Cubs starter did not expect to be put in play. Adames beat him before the pitcher’s plan could fully take shape.
“I wanted to get him out, so that pitch was more to set up the next pitch,” Imanaga said via his interpreter, Edwin Stanberry. “Reflecting on it, that should’ve been more of a ball.”
Busch’s battle with Webb
While the Cubs have had a few moments of offensive resurgence of late -- most recently, a 12-1 romp over the Angels on Saturday -- the collective lull over the past several weeks has been frustrating for the hitters. Thursday marked the latest example of a day with multiple chances and few results.
One at-bat that did stand out arrived in the sixth, when Michael Busch ended an 11-pitch battle with Giants ace Logan Webb with a homer.
“Webb threw everything,” Happ said. “He threw changeups. He threw him sweepers. He threw him [four-seamers] and sinkers. He saw everything in that at-bat. For him to stay in it that long and hit the ball that hard was pretty impressive."
Busch fell behind, 0-2, but worked his way back into a full count after seeing three sinkers, three sweepers, two four-seamers and two changeups. Webb worked the edges and fired a few offerings trying to entice Busch to chase, but the Cubs first baseman stayed locked in and fouled off five pitches.
Finally, Busch saw a sinker over the heart of the plate and launched it to center for his 25th home run of the year.
“He’s a good pitcher -- he locates really well,” Busch said. “I saw kind of everything and tried to be aggressive.”
Crow-Armstrong’s near robbery
When an offense is laboring, singular pitches or plays can wind up under the microscope. On Adames’ second home run, for example, Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong came extremely close to pulling off an incredible catch.
“He was really close to it,” Happ said. “It’s not an easy wall to navigate out there. It gets really deep. He made a really good run at it. Inches away.”
Crow-Armstrong -- ranked second in MLB in Fielding Run Value (21), per Statcast -- covered 103 feet and made a leaping attempt at the wall. The center fielder’s back hit the padding and he reached over the wall, narrowly missing the baseball Adames had just belted his way.
Imanaga was impressed that Crow-Armstrong came as close as he did to an amazing grab.
“An average defender, that’s a home run,” Imanaga said. “But with him, he’s a fantastic defender and it gives you that hope that he can catch that.”