Shota Imanaga came off the injured list and allowed just one hit in five innings as the visiting Chicago Cubs blanked the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 Thursday afternoon.
The Cubs pitched their second straight shutout to earn a 2-2 split in the four-game series.
Imanaga (4-2) walked one and struck out three during his first start since recovering from a hamstring muscle strain suffered on May 4.
Reliever Caleb Thielbar retired the four batters he faced, then Brad Keller pitched two-thirds of an inning, Drew Pomeranz worked the eighth inning, and Daniel Palencia closed out the ninth for his eighth save.
Michael Busch went 2-for-4 with a homer and two runs to provide all the offense the Chicago pitchers needed.
Cardinals starter Andre Pallante (5-4) allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out two.
Busch’s homer put the Cubs up 1-0 in the second inning.
Matt Shaw led off the third inning with a single, then he took second on a hit-and-run groundout and advanced to third on another groundout. After Seiya Suzuki walked, Pallante retired Pete Crow-Armstrong on an inning-ending liner to center field.
With one out in the fourth inning, singles by Busch, Carson Kelly and Nico Hoerner loaded the bases. Ian Happ drew a two-out walk to increase Chicago’s lead to 2-0, but Kyle Tucker grounded out to strand three runners.
After allowing Masyn Winn’s one-out single in the first inning, Imanaga retired 14 of next 15 hitters while cruising through the fifth inning.
Willson Contreras drew a one-out walk off Keller in the seventh inning and moved up on a wild pitch. After Nolan Arenado walked, Thomas Saggese grounded into a forceout and Nolan Gorman flied out to strand the runners.
The Cubs played small ball to make it 3-0 in the eighth inning. Crow-Armstrong led off with an infield single and raced to third on Dansby Swanson’s single.
With one out, Crow-Armstrong scored while Swanson got caught in a rundown between first and second base.
–Field Level Media
