Cubs foolishly allowing Wild Card Series criticism impact their NLDS pitching plans

The Milwaukee Brewers' Game 1 destruction of the Chicago Cubs certainly put them in the driver's seat of the NLDS, though Craig Counsell's squad won't be going down without a fight.

Including that NLDS contest, the two NL Central rivals have played each other to an even 7-7 this season, and yesterday's off-day certainly favored the Cubs, who have played three more games than the Brewers this postseason, and needed something to break the Brew Crew's momentum.

That said, the off day did allow both teams to take a closer look at their pitching strategy for Game 2, pouring over matchups and deciding which arm at the beginning of the game gives them the best chance to win the late-night tilt in Milwaukee.

On that note, Pat Murphy announced that the Crew will be starting Aaron Ashby as an opener in Game 2, presumably to attack lefties Michael Busch and Kyle Tucker atop the Cubs' lineup. Nothing is confirmed beyond that, but it's likely that Quinn Priester will follow in a long-relief role.

Alternatively, the Cubs — who used the same opener strategy in Game 2 against the San Diego Padres in the NL Wild Card Round — won't be taking that route this time around. Instead, Shota Imanaga will draw a traditional start, and he'll have to give Chicago some length after both Matthew Boyd and Michael Soroka failed to get out of the second inning in Game 1.

Cubs electing not to use an opener for Imanaga after Wild Card Series criticism

Against the Padres, Counsell used reliever Andrew Kittredge to open Game 2, which didn't work as planned, seeing as San Diego jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Imanaga came on in the second and was mostly okay, though he served up a two-run bomb to Manny Machado that put the game out of reach for the Cubs.

It's easy to see why the Cubs elected to pair Imanaga with an opener. In his MLB career, Imanaga has an ERA below 3.65 in every single inning... except the first. He's allowed 28 first-inning runs in 54 career starts (4.67 ERA), as well as 12 opening-frame home runs.

However, when the Cubs ended up dropping Game 2 of the Wild Card Series to the Padres by a score of 3-0 — a loss that had far more to do with their lack of offense than the fact that their pitching staff surrendered a respectable three runs — Counsell was handed much of the blame for putting Kittredge on the mound in the first inning. Yes, plenty of blame was placed on the offense as well, but many suggested that an opener for Imanaga was a blasphemous decision, when, in actuality, the choice held merit.

Now with a chance to revise that strategy and please the critics ahead of the southpaw's NLDS Game 2 start against the Brewers, Counsell has opted to let Imanaga take the ball right out of the gates, which could prove to be a boon for Milwaukee.

The Brewers' offense got off to a hot start against lefty starter Matthew Boyd in Game 1 on Saturday afternoon, scoring six runs off on the 2025 All-Star in the first frame. Pair that with Imanaga's first-inning struggles, and it could be another exciting start for the Brew Crew.

Of course, Imanaga will surely enter his second career postseason appearance with more adrenaline and focus than usual, which could lead him to replicate his last start against the Brewers from August 21 (two runs in seven innings). Even still, Counsell's decision not to use an opener with Imanaga on the bump could prove to be costly, especially with Milwaukee clearly holding the momentum heading into Monday night's matchup.