Game thread CV - Cubs at Royals

Can Seth Lugo outduel Shota Imanaga? Why do we even phrase it that way?

You go, I go, we all go for Lugo!

Cy Young contender (as we all expected) Seth Lugo will take the mound tonight for the Royals as they seek their sixth win of the home stand and to guarantee another series victory. Lugo, of course, is coming off of his best start in his best season after a complete-game, one-run performance over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. In case you’re wondering, Lugo did face the Cubs once last year and gave up four runs in five innings. Hopefully, that isn’t a sign of anything in particular.

Meanwhile, new Cubs ace Shota Imanaga will take the mound on the other side. Imanaga is a rookie, joining MLB for the first time this season after spending the last seven years pitching in Japan for the Yokohama BayStars. He shares much in common with Lugo such as suddenly becoming a Cy Young candidate after joining a new league after the age of 30 on what some called an overpay before the season but which now appears to be a very team-friendly deal.

Lugo is on a streak of six quality starts out of his last seven; Imanaga is on a similar streak, though he has four straight. Lugo does have the advantage in ERA over the stretch at 2.42 to 4.32, but that’s mostly because Imanaga’s one non-quality start in that span was a huge outlier of 10 runs allowed in three innings to the Mets. His last start was seven innings and only one run allowed against the Diamondbacks just before they came to Kansas City.

One thing is for sure, a lot of people will be expecting a pitcher’s duel today. Not me, though, no sirree. The last two times I expected a pitching duel Cole Ragans ended up giving up seven runs. I’ve sworn off such expectations. I’ll just be rooting for a Royals victory regardless of how they get there.

Lineups

Imanaga has been significantly tougher on lefties this year so, reasonably, the Royals have loaded their lineup with righties. Here’s hoping it pays off.