Left-hander Shota Imanaga will try to help the visiting Chicago Cubs avoid a sweep of their three-game series against division rival Milwaukee on Wednesday afternoon.
Imanaga (7-4, 3.12 ERA) will start the contest opposite Milwaukee right-hander Freddy Peralta (12-4, 2.81).
The Brewers followed an 8-4 victory over the Cubs in the series opener on Monday with a 9-3 win Tuesday. Andrew Vaughn hit a grand slam and drove in a career-high six runs on Tuesday, and Quinn Priester threw 5 2/3 innings to win his ninth consecutive decision.
By taking the first two contests of the series, first-place Milwaukee moved two games ahead of Chicago in the National League Central and is a season-high 21 games above .500.
“Fortunately, we play these guys again tomorrow and then again at home in a couple weeks,” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said Tuesday. “There’s plenty of opportunities, but it’s on us to seize them.”
Imanaga missed 1 1/2 months of the season with a left hamstring strain and is 4-2 in six starts since leaving the injured list in late June. He is coming off his worst start of the season, allowing seven runs on 12 hits — including three homers — in three innings in a 12-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Friday.
Imanaga has lost his only two career starts versus Milwaukee, allowing nine runs on 12 hits in 10 innings. He lost to Peralta and the Brewers on May 4, giving up two runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 4-0 setback.
Cubs left fielder Ian Happ came out of Tuesday’s game in the eighth inning after fouling a pitch off his left shin. X-rays were negative, Happ said afterward, adding that he left the game because he felt light-headed. His status for Wednesday was uncertain, but the Cubs are off Thursday before a weekend series versus Baltimore.
Peralta is 6-0 with a 3.26 ERA over his last seven starts and has not lost since June 3, a span of nine outings. In his most recent effort, he allowed one run in five innings but did not get the decision in a 5-1 loss at Miami on Friday.
Peralta is 8-2 with a 3.07 ERA in 20 career games (15 starts) against the Cubs. He is 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in two starts versus them this season, allowing three earned runs in 11 innings.
Vaughn was acquired from the White Sox in mid-June for pitcher Aaron Civale. Vaughn was called up from Triple-A Nashville earlier this month when first baseman Rhys Hoskins was injured.
Vaughn had five homers and 19 RBIs in 48 games with the White Sox. He has five homers and 21 RBIs in 15 games with the Brewers, hitting .375 over that span.
“It’s a special group here right now,” Vaughn said. “We’re playing really good baseball. It’s fun to be a part of it. … Helping the team win any way I can, and winning’s fun. And we’ve been doing it a lot. So got to keep it going.”
Jackson Chourio was removed from Tuesday’s game after a leadoff triple in the fifth inning with a right hamstring spasm. The Brewers did not have an update on his status following the contest.
–Field Level Media
