In an attempt to snap a three-game losing trend, Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell has decided to play the opener on Wednesday night after witnessing the San Francisco Giants throw bullpen games and win the previous two nights.
Counsell announced that right-hander Shota Imanaga, who was supposed to start the third game of the four-game road series on Friday, will now start on Thursday instead of Friday. Imanaga is trying to get over his Friday night loss to the New York Mets, where he was destroyed for 10 runs and 11 hits in three innings.
Now set to start the series finale on Thursday, Imanaga will be followed on Wednesday by right-hander Hayden Wesneski (2-4, 3.29 ERA) of the Cubs.
On Wednesday, right-hander Hayden Birdsong, 22, of the Giants, will make his major-league debut, giving the Cubs a viable starter, although an unfamiliar one.
After being promoted from Double-A Richmond to Triple-A Sacramento during the season, the native of Illinois only made two starts there. In those contests, the 2022 sixth-round draft pick is 1-0 with a 5.00 ERA.
Giants manager Bob Melvin stated, “There’s some risk involved with a guy who was just in Triple-A, making his first big-league start.” “However, we’re thrilled about it. Because of the situation and the fact that he was pitching the best down there, he’s definitely emerging a bit sooner than we had planned.”
Melvin made reference to the situation where there are just two healthy starters, Logan Webb and Jordan Hicks, and five starting pitchers on the disabled list: Blake Snell, Robbie Ray, Kyle Harrison, Alex Cobb, and Keaton Winn.
After 11 different pitchers entered the game in the first two games of the series, Melvin had the choice to attempt the uncommon opening hat trick, but he felt his bullpen needed a rest.
Together, the 11 relievers—two of whom served as openers—kicked the Cubs down to only five runs. In the 5-1 and 5-4 victories on Monday, eight of the eleven players had scoreless stretches.
Tuesday, after Giants starter Randy Rodriguez gave up a run in the third inning, five relievers worked together to shut out the Cubs for the remainder of the game. Chicago managed just four hits at the game’s conclusion, all singles.
“Silent evening,” Counsell said afterwards. “With runners in scoring position for three at-bats. Not one extra-base hit. With those kind of stats, you are not going to be successful offensively.”
There was no denying Chicago’s opening pitching. After limiting the Giants to two runs in seven and a third innings on Monday, Justin Steele exited with a 4-2 lead. In the rematch, Kyle Hendricks scored almost exactly the same amount of runs in seven innings.
This season, the Cubs have only used the opener strategy once. Luke Little pitched one shutout inning against Colorado in the opening week of the season.
Wesneski, who has made 15 appearances out of the bullpen, started three straight games in April and May while giving up four earned runs in 16 1/3 innings. However, he barely met the criteria for an opener since he twice threw into the seventh inning.
