Mark Grote

Alex Bregman, home runs number one and two as a Cub.

He went back-to-back with Ian Happ early to try to get it to come close.

But when you're facing a guy like Jake Irvin, and if you didn't know the book on Jake Irvin coming into the game...

Last year, he gave up 114 earned runs.

That's more than anybody in baseball.

Last year, he gave up 38 home runs.

That's more than anybody in baseball.

If you can't get it going against a guy like that and put up, I don't know, five, six runs, what are we really doing here?

You're right.

That's a great point, but I want to take it back to Shota Imanaga.

You said he settled down after the Joey Weamer three-run homer on a 2-1 count.

I disagree with you, Layla.

You know that we talked about this before the show.

I thought it was a very, very hittable pitch.

I thought it was wheelhouse stuff.

even if it was a little bit low.

Shota Imanaga finished 2025 by allowing a home run in each of his final nine regular season starts, adding up to 15 home runs.

In the postseason, he allowed three home runs in six and two-thirds across the two games that they allowed him to pitch in.

So in a season in which most people are picking the Cubs to –

very least win the division.