This game marked the first match of a three-game series this week at Truist Park between the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta Braves.

The starting pitchers for the first game were:
(Cubs) Shota Imanaga vs. (Braves) Reynaldo Lopez.

Shota Imanaga entered this game with excellent stats, boasting a record of 2 wins, 0 losses, and an ERA of 1.08 across 7 starts. Over 41 2/3 innings pitched, he struck out 43 and walked only 5 (a K/BB ratio of 8.60), demonstrating his dominant performance. Additionally, Imanaga’s season stats against batters are formidable, with a batting average against of .187, on-base percentage of .213, slugging percentage of .258, and an OPS of just 0.471, showing his strong suppressive effect on hitters.

On the other hand, Braves’ starter Reynaldo Lopez has also been impressive before this game, with a record of 2 wins, 1 loss, and an ERA of 1.53 over 6 starts (ERA+ of 273). Over 35 1/3 innings, his batting average against is only .205, and he has maintained stable control (K/BB of 2.57), averaging nearly 6 innings per game, which is surprising given that he exclusively pitched from the bullpen last year.

This game will be analyzed in 8 segments:
1️⃣ Game process (Cubs 0:2 Braves)
2️⃣ Braves starting pitcher – Reynaldo Lopez’s performance
3️⃣ Cubs starting pitcher – Shota Imanaga’s performance
4️⃣ Bullpen performance of both teams
5️⃣ Batting performance of both teams
6️⃣ Defensive performance of both teams
7️⃣ Tactical details of the game
8️⃣ Conclusion

This article will analyze segments 1️⃣ – 4️⃣
The next article will analyze segments 5️⃣ – 8️⃣

1️⃣ Game process (Cubs 0:2 Braves)

Here are the highlights of the game on YouTube
Source / MLB official Youtube channel

This game can be described as a direct confrontation between two strong teams in the league. Before this game, the Braves were 24-13, a winning percentage of 0.649, ranked second in the NL East; and the Cubs were 24-17, with a winning percentage of 0.585, also ranked second in the NL Central. Both teams are not far behind their respective division leaders (Phillies in NL East and Brewers in NL Central).

In the bottom of the first inning, Braves leadoff hitter Ronald Acuna Jr. got on base with a walk, the first batter of the game to reach base. However, Shota Imanaga immediately got the second batter, Ozzie Albies, to pop out to the catcher. At this moment, as Acuna Jr. strayed too far from first base, Imanaga picked him off. Initially, the first base umpire, Junior Valentine, ruled the runner safe, but after the Cubs challenged for a review, the call was overturned to an out.

In the top of the second inning, the Cubs’ seventh batter hit a fly ball to left field for a hit with two outs, but was then caught trying to steal second, effectively ending the inning with a pseudo three-up, three-down.

In the bottom of the third, Imanaga struck out the leadoff hitter, Braves’ third baseman Zack Short, and then struck out Ronald Acuna Jr. with a high fastball for his fourth strikeout of the game, marking the second out of the inning. Although Imanaga gave up hits to the next two batters, Albies and Marcell Ozuna, he ultimately struck out powerhouse Matt Olson with a low fastball to end the inning with Braves runners stranded on first and second.

In the bottom of the fourth, with bases loaded and two outs, Imanaga faced Ronald Acuna Jr. again (his third at-bat of the game). With a count of 1 ball and 2 strikes, Imanaga threw a low splitter that Acuna Jr. started to swing at but held back. Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya and home plate umpire Quinn Walcott checked with first base umpire Junior Valentine, who ruled no swing. Cubs manager Craig Counsell, displeased with the call, yelled at Valentine and was subsequently ejected from the game. Acuna Jr. then hit a strong fly ball to right field, but it was caught by Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki.

The game moved to the bottom of the sixth, with Cubs pitcher Hayden Wesneski replacing Imanaga. Wesneski struck out the first two Braves batters he faced, but then gave up back-to-back doubles to Travis d

’Arnaud and Zack Short, allowing the Braves to take a 1-0 lead. Acuna Jr. followed with a single to left field, extending the Braves’ lead to 2-0.

In the top of the eighth, Braves’ second reliever of the game, Dylan Lee (replacing Ray Kerr from the previous inning), managed to get through the inning despite allowing hits to Miguel Amaya and Mike Tauchman. However, he got Seiya Suzuki to fly out to center field to end the threat.

In the top of the ninth, Braves brought in left-handed pitcher AJ Minter to close the game. Minter initially allowed a hit to Cody Bellinger and walked Christopher Morel, putting Cubs runners on first and second with no outs. However, he induced a 6-4-3 double play from Ian Happ, and then got Nico Hoerner to fly out to center field to end the game. The Braves won the first game of the series 2-0 against the Cubs.

2️⃣ Braves starting pitcher – Reynaldo Lopez’s performance

Braves’ starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez had a standout performance, pitching five innings without allowing a run and giving up just two hits while striking out four and walking two. Lopez’s cumulative ERA for the season decreased from 1.53 to 1.34 due to this performance.

Lopez left the game after only 71 pitches due to back tightness and is listed as day-to-day, though the Braves hope he can make his next scheduled start. His pitch breakdown for this game was: 49% four-seam fastballs (35 pitches), 41% sliders (29 pitches), and 10% curveballs (10 pitches). His average spin rates for all pitch types were higher than his season averages, contributing to a high swing-and-miss rate of 31.25%, especially with his slider, which had a 53.33% swing-and-miss rate.

3️⃣ Cubs starting pitcher – Shota Imanaga’s performance

Although Imanaga allowed 7 hits and 3 walks over 5 innings, making it a game where he frequently allowed batters to reach base, his ability to generate a high number of strikeouts was key to navigating through tough innings. His pitch usage was heavily reliant on his four-seam fastball and splitter, which combined made up 95.91% of his pitches in this game, contributing to his issues with giving up hits.

4️⃣ Bullpen performance of both teams

Before this game, the Braves’ bullpen had an ERA of 3.42, ranking 10th in the league, while the Cubs’ bullpen had a much higher ERA of 4.58, ranking 24th. The Braves used three relievers: Ray Kerr, Dylan Lee, and AJ Minter, who effectively managed the latter innings without allowing the Cubs to score. The Cubs, on the other hand, relied solely on Hayden Wesneski to finish the game after Imanaga, who gave up the two decisive runs in the sixth inning.

Part 1 of the analysis ends here, with Part 2 to follow, covering the batting and defensive performances and tactical details of the game, along with a conclusion.

Sources:
Baseball Reference
MLB official website
Baseball Savant
CBS Fantasy
Fangraphs