The Cubs played their first home game of the season at a chilly and overcast Wrigley Field against the Padres Friday afternoon. Luckily for Chicago, Shōta Imanaga was razor-sharp and shut down a talented San Diego lineup to hand them their first defeat of 2025.
The North Siders loaded the bases against San Diego starter Randy Vásquez in the bottom of the 1st inning. Nico Hoerner coaxed a walk to force in the first run of the contest to make it 1-0 for the home team. Imanaga made his only mistake in the 3rd inning when catcher Martín Maldonado hit a solo home run that just barely reached the basket in left to even the score.
The Cubs loaded the bases against Vásquez for a second time in the bottom of the 5th with pinch-hitter Justin Turner at the plate. Turner hit a ground ball deep in the hole at short and Seiya Suzuki beat out a force attempt at second base to allow the go-ahead run to score. Then Manny Machado booted a Dansby Swanson ground ball to third to increase the lead to 3-1.
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Imanaga got stronger as the game moved along Friday, making it into the 8th inning before coming out. Things got tense in the 9th when the Padres got the tying runs on base, but Ryan Pressly found a way to escape the jam and preserve the 3-1 victory. (Box score)
Key Moment
Runs were hard to come by Friday, so the hustle by Suzuki to beat out the force play at second base in the 5th inning was huge.
Why the Cubs Won
An outstanding starting pitching performance against a very powerful offense was the biggest factor in the win.
Stats That Matter
- Imanaga is very good at home and demonstrated that Friday: 7.1 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 4 K, and 0 BB.
- Ian Happ had two of the three hits Chicago collected in this one.
- The Cubs were very patient Friday with seven total walks.
Bottom Line
It’s almost impossible to put up big hitting performances when it’s cold and blustery at Wrigley Field in April, so it was very nice to see Chicago win with pitching and defense. Beating one of the best teams in baseball is always good, but it’s even more so considering the Cubs’ difficult schedule in April. Continuing to push their record past the .500 mark will put them in a very good spot once the weather warms.
On Deck
Game two of the series is Saturday afternoon at 1:20pm CT. Matthew Boyd takes the hill against Nick Pivetta in a contest televised on Marquee with radio coverage on 670 The Score.
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