The resurgent St. Louis Cardinals have climbed out of the National League Central cellar by winning eight of their last 10 games.
But they face a daunting challenge Friday night in the opener of their three-game series against the visiting Chicago Cubs in the form of rookie sensation Shota Imanaga (5-0, 0.84 ERA).
The Cubs are 8-1 in the games Imanaga has started this season. The left-hander has thrown 12 scoreless innings in his last two starts while striking out 15, walking four and allowing 11 hits.
According to MLB.com, no pitcher in baseball history has posted a lower ERA through his first nine career starts -- excluding openers -- since that statistic became official in 1913.
"When you start getting in this territory, you have to be a little surprised, for sure," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. "We're fortunate to watch it."
"If I'm being honest, I'm not really too interested in my own stats like that, or any historic value," Imanaga said via his translator. "But just knowing that there are so many good pitchers that came before me ... is a good learning experience."
The Cardinals will counter on Friday with right-hander Miles Mikolas (3-5. 5.77 ERA), who is coming off of his best start of the season. He earned the victory in a 7-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday after allowing one run on two hits in five innings.
Mikolas has yielded at least five runs on four occasions during his up-and-down season.
Last season, he was 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA in three starts against the Cubs. Mikolas is 5-4 with a 2.58 ERA in 19 career appearances (17 starts) vs. Chicago.
While the Cardinals feature an upgraded rotation with newcomers Sonny Gray, Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn, their re-tooled bullpen has been the strength of the pitching staff.
"You definitely have answers," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. "Right, left. Guys who aren't overly splitty. Swing and miss. Guys if you need a ground ball. There are definitely more answers, for sure. There are more answers and more depth."
Closer Ryan Helsley has 15 saves, and set-up men Andrew Kittredge (14 holds) and JoJo Romero (17 holds) also have led the way.
"That three-headed monster is crazy," Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "They're different. For those guys to go out and give us quality innings, that's great for their confidence. That's great for our confidence. We don't have to use Helsley, JoJo, Kitt every night. It would be nice if we could. It's nicer to know we've got other guys to fall back on ... to have a bullpen that is lockdown shutdown."
The Cardinals' bullpen had a chance to re-set with the team's day off Thursday while the Cubs suffered a 3-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Chicago needed three relievers, including converted starter Kyle Hendricks, to cover five innings in that game.
The Cubs, who have lost seven of their last 10 games, mustered just four hits against the Braves.
"Ultimately we didn't do enough offensively," Counsell said. "The answer is to just come back tomorrow and have good bats and swing at the right pitches. And that's how you have to move forward with it."
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