Atlanta Braves dominate Chicago Cubs despite Imanaga’s good start

Zack Short made the most of his first start with Atlanta by breaking a scoreless tie with a doubled with a run-score in the sixth and the Braves wasted another strong start from Chicago rookie Shota Imanaga to beat the Cubs 2-0 on Monday night.

Short, who filled in at third base while Austin Riley was strained on his left side, lined a pitch from right-hander Hayden Wesneski (2-2) into the right field corner to drive in Travis d’Arnaud, who doubled. with two outs.

Ronald Acuña Jr. followed with a single to left field to drive in Short for a 2-0 lead.

Imanaga pitched five scoreless innings, extending his team record to eight straight starts to start his career without allowing more than two runs. Imanaga stranded two baserunners in the second and third innings and left the bases loaded in the fourth.

Imanaga had eight strikeouts and lowered his ERA, the best in the majors, to 0.96 despite giving up seven hits and three walks.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell was ejected in the fourth inning shortly after first base umpire Junior Valentine ruled that Acuña had successfully checked his swing with two outs and the bases loaded. After a delay when Counsell came out of the dugout to argue with Valentine, Imanaga escaped the block on Acuña’s fly ball to right field.

It was Counsell’s 29th career ejection and first with the Cubs.

Braves right-hander Reynaldo López kept pace with Imanaga, pitching five scoreless innings while allowing two hits and two walks.

Left-hander Ray Kerr (1-0) recorded three strikeouts in two perfect innings. AJ Minter pitched the ninth, stranding two baserunners, to earn his first save in four attempts, a day after a blown save in a 4-3 loss to the New York Mets.

Acuña, who was thrown out from first base twice in Sunday’s loss to the Mets, was knocked out by Imanaga after a first-inning walk. Imanaga also struck out Ozzie Albies after Albies singled in the fifth.

TRAINERS ROOM

Cubs: RHP Adbert Alzolay was placed on the 15-day injured list with a strained right forearm. RHP José Cuas has been recalled from Triple-A Iowa. Alzolay is 1-4 with a 4.67 ERA and has four saves in nine chances. … OF David Peralta opted out of his minor league contract to become a free agent after hitting .217 in 20 games with Iowa. … Christopher Morel was replaced by pinch runner Pete Crow-Armstrong after drawing a walk in the ninth and then showing discomfort in the batter’s box.

Braves: Manager Brian Snitker said Riley is still sore and is undergoing imaging tests to determine the severity of the injury. Short made his first start for Atlanta four days after being acquired from the Boston Red Sox.

FOLLOWING

Braves LHP Chris Sale (5-1, 2.95) will face Cubs RHP Jameson Taillon (3-0, 1.13) on Tuesday night. Sale is 2-1 with a 1.23 ERA in five career games, including three starts, during his career against Chicago.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb