"I want to apologize to Counsell for not having it " - Cubs ace Shota Imanaga reflects on first loss after disastrous start against Brewers

Shota Imanaga, who is having a stellar season in his rookie year, had an otherwise blemished night in which he allowed seven earned runs across 4.1 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers. This was an out-of-the-blue performance for Imanaga, who was sporting a 0.84 ERA entering this game.

Imanaga allowed seven hits, including two home runs and also struck out one hitter. The Brewers won the run-fest encounter 10-6 against the Cubs on Wednesday. More importantly, five runs were scored in the third innings, which turned out to be the difference.

After the game, Imanage was disappointed with his outing and also expressed his apology to Cubs manager Craig Counsell.

"I used the past 10 days. It was good for recovery. Got my training in and you know I felt good but unfortunately today it wasn't there and so I want to apologize to Counsell for not having it today," Imanaga said.

Extra rest didn't turn out well for Shota Imanaga

This was Shota Imanaga's first start since May 18. He was earlier scheduled to take the mound on Friday, but due to the game being affected by rain, the coaching staff decided to give him extra rest and have him pitch on Wednesday instead.

Well, it didn't turn out well. Imanaga had the worst rookie start of an otherwise stellar rookie season.

The Brewers offense caught fire against the Japanese ace early on and scored two runs in the fifth inning. It was followed up by another five run third inning and a log jam in the fifth before he was eventually pulled out.

Christian Yelich blasted a two-run home run in the deep center field to take up the Brewers 2-0 in the first inning. Willy Adames and Gary Sanchez drove in more runs before Blake Perkins smacked a two run shot to take the lead up to 7-1.

The only good thing about an otherwise poor night for the Cubs was their hitting, which has been a cause of concern this season. They accumulated 10 hits and 3 walks against the Brewers pitching staff as six runs were scored.