rainout delays – A rainout wiped out Shota Imanaga’s scheduled start against the Blue Jays Sunday, pushing his next outing to Monday in New York against the Mets. The delay also postpones a matchup with Kazuma Okamoto, who has sparked Toronto’s comeback win over the Cubs with
A towel spread on the outfield grass was supposed to be part of Shota Imanaga’s warmup routine Sunday morning. Instead, it became a quiet pause before a rainout.
The Cubs’ game against the Blue Jays was postponed, and that meant the left-hander was scratched from his scheduled start. It still hadn’t begun to rain. so Imanaga took advantage of the time—stretching like he was trying to reach the sky. then doing long toss and running in the outfield before heading back inside.
Manager Craig Counsell said Imanaga will open the Cubs’ four-game series against the Mets on Monday in New York. After that, the Cubs are set to go with right-handers Edward Cabrera and Javier Assad on Tuesday and Wednesday, while Thursday’s starter remains undecided.
In the meantime, there’s a separate piece of the rotation puzzle moving closer. Left-hander Matthew Boyd struck out seven in four scoreless innings in a rehab assignment Saturday in Class A South Bend, making his return “imminent.”
The rainout also erased a matchup Cubs fans had been waiting for: a chance for Imanaga to renew his long-standing rivalry with Blue Jays slugger Kazuma Okamoto. Okamoto’s three-run home run against Jacob Webb in the eighth inning helped the Blue Jays rally from a five-run deficit to beat the Cubs 8-6 on Saturday.
Okamoto has been driving the offense. His homer was his team-leading 16th, double that of runner-up George Springer. He’s also struck out 99 times—sixth-most in baseball, two fewer than the Cubs’ Ian Happ.
The Blue Jays’ biggest-name bat, Vladi Guerrero, remains a question mark on power numbers. Guerrero led the majors with 48 homers in 2021 and has never hit fewer than 23 in a full season, but he is locked in an Alex Bregman-like slump with just four homers so far.
For Imanaga. the missed chance against Okamoto carries extra weight because they’ve already tested each other in Japan’s top leagues. In Japan’s Central League. where Imanaga pitched for the Yokohama Bay Stars. he faced Okamoto—star slugger of the Yomiuri Giants—often. In 56 plate appearances (48 at-bats) against Imanaga, Okamoto hit three homers and batted .271 (13-for-48) while striking out 14 times.
During spring training, Imanaga even joked about the danger Okamoto brings. On the podcast “Foul Territory. ” he said. “I joked that some of the home runs they hit off me should be part of their contract [negotiations].” He also referenced Munetaka Murakami. the White Sox slugger who has joined the recent wave of hitters who have been able to knock Imanaga deep.
When Imanaga finally takes the mound Monday against the Mets, the matchup will come with its own urgency. He is trying to end a seven-start winless streak—four losses and three no-decisions—and he hasn’t been credited with a victory in six weeks. His last win came May 7 against the Reds.
Makeup plans were set quickly after the weather forced the delay. The postponed game was rescheduled for 1:20 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, a mutual day off for both teams. The Cubs will be coming off six games at Wrigley Field against the Yankees and Dodgers. then they will play the Blue Jays before opening a series against the Royals the next night in Kansas City.
For Toronto, the rainout will cost the Blue Jays a day off after they play in Houston. They will come to Chicago, then resume their trip the next night in Philadelphia.
Cubs officials said fans holding tickets for Sunday’s game will have them automatically updated in the MLB Ballpark app, and no ticket exchange is necessary.
Even with Imanaga’s schedule shifting. the Cubs’ week is still carrying a major spark from one of their rising stars. Pete Crow-Armstrong. His home run Saturday was his fourth in the last five games and extended his career-high on-base streak to 23 games. dating to May 26. The hitting stretch has been relentless: a hitting streak of 10 games. and during his on-base streak he is batting .412 (40-for-97) with seven doubles. two triples. 10 homers. 17 RBI and a 1.303 OPS.
His production has also turned into league-leading numbers in the span. His .835 slugging percentage, 1.303 OPS and 40 hits during his on-base streak lead the majors, and his .412 batting average is second. Crow-Armstrong has nine homers in June. leading the majors. and according to FanGraphs his 4.6 wins above replacement leads major-league position players and trails only Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani (5.3).
Shota Imanaga Cubs Blue Jays Kazuma Okamoto rainout Mets Craig Counsell Pete Crow-Armstrong Matthew Boyd Edward Cabrera Javier Assad