This is the finale of a three-game series in San Francisco between the Giants and visiting Chicago Cubs.
Shota Imanaga is scheduled to pitch for Chicago, while Logan Webb is slated to start for San Francisco.
Cubs at Giants prediction, preview
Shota Imanaga is a soft-tossing lefty who averages 90.8 mph on the fastball and is posting a 21% strikeout rate. The control is excellent with a 4.9% walk rate. The ERA of 3.03 is not supported by the 4.33 FIP. The BABIP is only .212 while the strand rate is 85.3%. The fly-ball rate is 55.1% and the Statcast numbers aren’t great — 90.2 mph average exit velocity, 10.1% barrel rate and 40.5% hard-hit rate. The swinging strike rate is 11.6%, though, while the chase rate is 31.8%. It’s all about the splitter, which has a 4.2 run value while the fastball is at 5.2. The dude just knows how to pitch.
16 of the 19 home runs he’s conceded have come off the bat of righties. 11 of the 19 home runs have been served up at home.
In 19 starts, Imanaga allowed more than three earned runs three times. He’s gone at least six innings nine times. This will be his first time facing San Francisco this season.
Against left-handed pitching, the Giants strike out at the fourth-highest rate while having the 18th-best ISO. Their wOBA is 30th-best in MLB.
Logan Webb is having a fantastic season. The ERA is 3.13 but the FIP is down at 2.6. The BABIP is an elevated .339. The 26% strikeout rate is the second-highest of his career. The walk rate is only 5.4% and he’s served up only 11 home runs in 166.2 innings. The swinging strike rate is 10.6% while the chase rate is 31.6%.
Webb has been better against righties, as the K-BB% is 24.1% compared to 17.2% against lefties. The FIP against lefties is higher than the 2.28 against righties, but it’s still sub-three. Webb has been site neutral.
In 27 starts, Webb has allowed more than three earned runs five times. He’s gone at least six innings 20 times. This will be his first time facing Chicago this season.
Against right-handed pitching, the Cubs strike out at the 27th-highest rate while having the seventh-best ISO. Their wOBA is ninth-best in MLB.
As for the bullpens, Chicago has the lowest FIP, while San Francisco has the sixth-lowest since August 1.
Cubs at Giants pick, best bet
This game has the lowest total on the slate at just seven runs, and for good reason. Both pitchers are great talents and this game is in San Francisco at Oracle Park, which doesn’t tend to help offensive production.
