Game Recap: Imanaga impressive as Cubs crush Padres

Rick Scuteri - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 5 hours ago

MESA - After suffering back-to-back Cactus League losses for the first time this Spring, the Chicago Cubs were back at it Tuesday as they welcomed the San Diego Padres to Sloan Park. In what could be his final tuneup until the Japan series, Shota Imanaga was on the bump as he made his second start of the season.

Backed by a relentless offense that pounded out 18 hits, the Cubs took care of business from start to finish as they pounded the Padres 16-1 to get back on the winning track. This is one of those games where the Cubs scored early and often, but it was the late innings when they put the game away, and 11 runs came into score after the sixth inning.

If this is his final start until the Japan series, Imanaga was in top form as the left-hander looks ready for the season to get underway. Imanaga gave the Cubs four impressive innings of 45-pitch baseball, scattering just two hits and striking out three. Considering how his first outing went, this would be seen as a massive improvement as he looks as locked in as ever.

Opposing Imanaga was right-hander Matt Waldron, who had a good first inning before a shaky second inning. Anytime Imanaga pitches as well as he did in this one, you can't afford to fall behind early, which is what the Padres did. After retiring the first two hitters in the bottom of the second, Michael Busch kept the inning alive as he worked a Waldron walk. That was followed by the game's most exciting play as what looked to be a routine single to left from Pete Crow-Armstrong turned into a little league homer as the Cubs took an early 2-0 lead.

They would never look back from there as the Cubs offense was looking to respond from a rough go of things the past two games and came out in a big way in this one. The Cubs kept the pressure on in the third, with Jon Berti leading things off with a walk before advancing to third on an Ian Happ single. Berti would later come in to score on the Kyle Tucker sacrifice fly as the Cubs extended their lead to 3-0.

A two-out hit by pitch to Busch kept the inning alive before Matt Shaw came through with his first hit and RBI of the Spring to extend the lead to 4-0. Following the impressive outing by Imanaga, it was time for Counsell to go to his relievers, several of whom expect to have huge roles this season. That included Caleb Thielbar, Ryan Brasier, and Julian Merryweather, who combined to throw three nearly flawless innings.

Mix that with an offense that tacked on another run on a fifth-inning Busch single, and this was one of those games where the Cubs were in complete control as they held a 5-0 lead entering the sixth. It was in the bottom of the sixth when the Cubs offense came to life as they would push across 11 runs over the next two innings.

Four runs came in the sixth, with Travis Jankowski working a bases-loaded walk ahead of the two-run Greg Allen single. A few pitches later saw Vidal Brujan deliver another RBI single as the Cubs pushed across their fourth run of the inning to make this a 9-0 game. As if the four-run inning wasn't bad enough for the Padres, try a seven-run seventh as the Cubs offense was as relentless as they have been all Spring.

James Triantos led off the bottom of the seventh with a double before advancing to third on the Moises Ballesteros single. Triantos came in to score on a Gage Workman single, while a Ben Cowles double pushed the lead to 12-0. After a costly error allowed Kevin Alcantara to reach, Allen kept the line moving as his RBI single brought home another run to make this a 13-0 game.

The Cubs offense was just getting started as a two-out single from Carlos Perez brought home another run while a Triantos triple capped off a seven-run inning for the Cubs as they opened up a 16-0 lead. The lone run of the game for the Padres came in the top of the eighth, and it came with Porter Hodge on the mound.

Hodge got off to a great start by retiring the first two hitters he faced, only to have an Ethan Salas walk extend the inning. Gavin Sheets kept the line moving with a single, which was followed by a Jack Costello single to put an end to the shutout, with the Cubs now leading 16-1. That was the game's final run for either team as Eli Morgan closed things out in the ninth to cap off the Cubs 16-1 win and moved their record to 9-2-3.

Chicago will now enjoy a rare off day on Wednesday, which will become a theme as Spring continues. Anytime you deliver 18 hits, you're getting plenty of production from the top down, as Shaw, Allen, Triantos, and Miguel Amaya all had two hits. Allen paced the Cubs with three RBIs, while Cowles and Triantos added two.