Cubs 6, Marlins 1: Imanaga's Six Innings and a Catch at the Wall

A splitter, a wall, and a 1-0 game that opened up

September 4, 2026 - Miami - Janson Junk had the Chicago Cubs in a box through five innings: one run, three hits. Then Jack Ralston walked the park, Josh Ekness walked in a run, and a 1-0 game became 4-0 before the Miami Marlins could blink.

Shota Imanaga did not need the outburst. He had already thrown six innings of one-run ball. Pete Crow-Armstrong had already taken a hit off the wall. Chicago won 6-1 at loanDepot park, and the night belonged to a left-hander who has spent two months looking for this version of himself.

Junk through five, then the walks

Ian Happ scored the first run in the second on Pedro Ramírez's fielder's choice. 1-0. Junk struck out five and kept Chicago in check through five. The Associated Press credited him with three hits allowed in that stretch. The Cubs were not squaring him up. They were waiting.

The sixth started with Crow-Armstrong's four-pitch walk against Ralston. Michael Busch walked with one out. Alex Bregman walked. Ekness came in, walked in a run, and allowed an RBI single to Nico Hoerner. Ramírez's sacrifice fly made it 4-0.

That is not a big inning built on extra-base hits. It is a big inning built on a bullpen that could not throw strikes. Ralston faced four batters and walked three. Ekness inherited a bases-loaded mess and made it worse.

Hoerner finished 3-for-4 with an RBI. Bregman singled twice and walked, stretching a hitting streak to eight games dating to August 28. Ramírez drove in two. Happ scored the first run and later added an RBI hit. The Cubs had nine hits and eight left on base. They also drew enough walks to win without needing a crooked number off Junk.

Seiya Suzuki went 0-for-5 in the two-hole. That is the other side of a 6-1 road win: Chicago did not need every regular to go off. It needed Imanaga to keep Miami at three hits through six and a bullpen that could not find the zone to hand them three more runs.

Crow-Armstrong's 92 feet

Crow-Armstrong doubled, stole his 33rd base, scored twice, and walked. The play people will keep is the sixth-inning catch. Heriberto Hernández hit one toward the center-field wall. Crow-Armstrong covered 92 feet, timed the jump, and took away an extra-base hit with Chicago already up 4-0.

The Associated Press framed it as part of an NL MVP case. I will leave the trophy talk alone. The catch kept Imanaga's line clean and kept Miami from turning a walk-heavy inning into a two-run swing the other way.

Miami finally scored in the seventh. Griffin Conine singled twice on the night and came home on Esteury Ruiz's groundout. Deyvison De Los Santos doubled. That was the Marlins' offense: four hits, one run, five left on base.

Busch goes 427 feet

Busch waited until the ninth. Bradley Blalock's sweeper went 427 feet to right-center. Solo homer, his 18th of the season. 6-1. Busch also walked and scored twice.

Aaron Civale threw the last three innings for his second save: one hit, two walks, three strikeouts, no runs. Imanaga did not need a six-out save. He needed someone to finish so the rest of the bullpen could sit. Civale did.

Imanaga's line: six innings, three hits, one run, no walks, four strikeouts. He is 9-10 and 4-2 in nine starts since the All-Star break. Kyodo quoted him after the game: "Anyone can have a good outing. It means nothing if you can't keep doing it." That is the right temperature for a pitcher who posted a 4.97 ERA over the previous two months.

Javier Assad (6-1, 3.46) starts Saturday against Ryan Gusto (1-3, 3.86). Chicago will try to make Friday the first night of a series, not a one-off.

AthX Engine angle

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) put Imanaga at 21 pitching FP, fourth among Friday's arms. Civale added 14. The Cubs posted 14 team FP, fifth on the slate. Busch's homer and Crow-Armstrong's steal-and-double card showed up on the hitting side without topping the board.

Fantasy points measure what a player did under platform scoring rules. Share prices also respond to market activity through dynamic pricing.

Imanaga found the splitter. Miami found the walks. Only one of those travels well.

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*Sources: ESPN recap and box score, AP recap, MLB.com schedule, and AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*