Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (9/4/26): Cubs 6, Marlins 1 – Shōta Shoves in W
The Cubs got their series in South Florida against the Marlins off to a strong start with an impressive victory Friday night. Starter Shōta Imanaga had a nice bounce-back performance to lead the way in a relatively comfortable win.
Chicago went in front on Janson Junk via an RBI groundout by Pedro Ramírez in the top of the 2nd. Imanaga was very sharp and gave up very little to Miami through the first five innings.
The North Siders got to the Marlins’ bullpen for three runs in the top of the 6th inning. Ian Happ walked with the bases loaded, Nico Hoerner had an RBI single, and Ramírez hit a sacrifice fly to make it a 4-0 game. Pete Crow-Armstrong scored on a wild pitch in the 7th to increase the advantage to 5-0.
Imanaga came out after giving up a single in the bottom of the frame, after which Aaron Civale allowed that run to score. That was it, however, as he covered the final three innings to earn a save. Michael Busch added a long home run in the top of the 9th that made it 6-1. (Box score)
Key Moment
Miami loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the 7th trailing 5-1. Civale struck out Joe Mack looking to escape the jam and keep his team in front.
Why the Cubs Won
Another quality performance from a starting pitcher and a very patient approach at the plate were the winning formula on Friday.
Stats That Matter
- Much better from Imanaga in this one with no home runs allowed: 6 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 4 K, and 0 BB.
- Hoerner collected three hits.
- Two more hits for Alex Bregman as well.
Bottom Line
The Cubs’ starting pitching is beginning to get on a bit of a roll right now, which would be very helpful the rest of the way. Taking any kind of pressure off of the bullpen is huge right now. That’s especially true in the case of Imanaga, who was heading in the wrong direction before Friday.
On Deck
Game two of the series is Saturday afternoon at 3:10pm CT. Javier Assad returns to face Ryan Gusto in a matchup broadcast on Marquee and The Score.
