Cubs activate LHP Shota Imanaga and designate RHP Michael Fulmer for assignment
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Cubs activated left-hander Shota Imanaga from the 15-day injured list to start Thursday's season finale at St. Louis.
To make room on the roster, Chicago designated right-hander Michael Fulmer for assignment.
The 31-year-old Imanaga (3-2, 2.82 ERA) had been shelved since early May with a strained left hamstring. In his final rehab outing, Imanaga threw 72 pitches in 4 1/3 scoreless innings for Triple-A Iowa on Friday.
Imanaga has made eight starts this season, allowing two or fewer runs in six of them. He made three rehab starts, two with the Arizona Complex League, and threw 10 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing six hits and two walks. He struck out 16.
The Cubs have gone 25-16 since he went on the IL.
The 32-year-old Fulmer made two scoreless appearances for the Cubs this week during their four-game series against the Cardinals.
Fulmer had a 4.42 ERA in 58 appearances for the Cubs in 2023, but the right-hander needed Tommy John surgery and missed last year. He also had the Tommy John procedure in 2019.
Fulmer appeared in one game this season for the Boston Red Sox, surrendering three runs and four hits in 2 2/3 innings on April 14. He then was released and signed a minor league deal with the Cubs.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Joe Ryan is pitching like the ace the struggling Twins badly need
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Chris Paddack (20) stands on the mound after issuing a walk to Seattle Mariners' Randy Arozarena (56) during the third inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan throws to the Seattle Mariners in the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn) Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Chris Paddack (20) stands on the mound after issuing a walk to Seattle Mariners' Randy Arozarena (56) during the third inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan throws to the Seattle Mariners in the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — With their pitching at the core of a damaging slump, the Minnesota Twins held a special meeting to address the failures, frustrations and path forward. Joe Ryan followed it up with a stellar start they badly needed. With Pablo López shelved because of a shoulder injury until perhaps September, Ryan has unquestionably become the staff ace. Advertisement 'You feel like you're going to win every time he pitches,' manager Rocco Baldelli said Thursday, a day after Ryan threw a three-hitter over six scoreless innings to beat Seattle 2-0 and stop Minnesota's five-game losing streak. 'You definitely look forward to the days where he's on the bump and you get a chance to watch him throw, because you feel like anything's possible.' The 29-year-old right-hander is well on track for his first All-Star selection, with a career-best 2.86 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 91 innings. Ryan, who struck out major league home run and RBI leader Cal Raleigh three times on Wednesday, has an 0.887 WHIP that's the third best in baseball among pitchers with a qualified amount of innings. After the game, he delivered a sermon of sorts on the value of the art of pitching over the data-driven revolution that has defined the approach for about every team in the sport. 'At the end of the day, it's a competition and you can't really put numbers to everything that goes into that,' Ryan said. Advertisement That competitive edge is an ace-like attribute that Ryan clearly has. 'I think he likes being the man, and I think he likes having the ball in his hands,' Baldelli said. Over the three-week stretch entering their game on Wednesday, the Twins had a 7.67 ERA that was by far the worst in MLB, according to Sportradar. Their 1.62 WHIP was the worst during that span from June 5-24 while they lost 15 of 18 games and tumbled into fourth place in the AL Central. 'We're the ones to blame, including myself,' said starting pitcher Chris Paddack, who took the lead along with pitching coach Pete Maki during the pregame meeting on Wednesday. 'It's just tough, a lot of crooked numbers the last couple of weeks, but it's going to change.' Advertisement Before López and fellow starter Zebby Matthews were sidelined by shoulder injuries earlier this month, the Twins were in a groove on the mound. Their 13-game winning streak in May was fueled by the starting pitching, which ranked fifth in MLB with a 3.40 ERA and third with a 1.16 WHIP through June 4. 'The meeting was something that really stemmed from the following idea: There are things you can control and that you should attack and there are things that you have less control over,' Baldelli said. 'Not that those things aren't going to be on your mind, but focus on the things that you can clearly control and do those things exceptionally well and start there. That was a good reminder, I think, for everyone in the room.' ___ AP MLB:
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dryburgh and Porter post a 66 in alternate shot to lead Dow Championship
MIDLAND, Mich. (AP) — Cassie Porter drove the green on a reachable par 4 and chipped in to start a streak of three straight birdies Thursday, teaming with Gemma Dryburgh in foursomes for a 4-under 66 to lead the Dow Championship in the LPGA Tour's only team event. The duo dropped only one shot and finished with six straight pars for a one-shot lead over six teams, including Lexi Thompson and Meghan Kang, and Leona Maguire and Jennifer Kupcho. Advertisement The defending champions are Ruoning Yin and Jeeno Thitikul, both among the top five in the women's world ranking. They were among those two shots behind at 68. Dryburgh is a 32-year-old from Scotland, while Porter is a 22-year-old Australian in her rookie season on the LPGA Tour. They carefully picked out which holes for the longer Porter to start at Midland Country. 'Cassie hits it further than me, and I'm nice and down the middle usually,' Dryburgh said. 'We kind of picked the right holes for each other, and I think we gelled really well. We complemented each other really nicely.' Thompson, who has gone six years without an LPGA victory, and Khang had five birdies offset by two bogeys. Advertisement 'I knew coming out here for alternate shot that we just had a make to a few birdies and pars were good,' Thompson said. 'Just tried to stay consistent and be patient.' Maguire and Kupcho had an early bogey and then played bogey-free with four birdies over the final 16 holes to join the large group at 67. For an alternate-shot format that can be stressful, Maguire and Kupcho kept it simple. Both are rarely out of position and consistently good putters. 'We don't get too aggressive on attacking pins,' Kupcho said. 'So we give ourselves lots of putts and kind of have our speed under control and kind of just make it easy on each other.' Kupcho teamed with Lizette Salas to win the 2022 event. The format switches to fourballs on Friday, which yields lower taking the lowest score of each player. ___ AP golf:
Associated Press
20 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Joe Ryan is pitching like the ace the struggling Twins badly need
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — With their pitching at the core of a damaging slump, the Minnesota Twins held a special meeting to address the failures, frustrations and path forward. Joe Ryan followed it up with a stellar start they badly needed. With Pablo López shelved because of a shoulder injury until perhaps September, Ryan has unquestionably become the staff ace. 'You feel like you're going to win every time he pitches,' manager Rocco Baldelli said Thursday, a day after Ryan threw a three-hitter over six scoreless innings to beat Seattle 2-0 and stop Minnesota's five-game losing streak. 'You definitely look forward to the days where he's on the bump and you get a chance to watch him throw, because you feel like anything's possible.' The 29-year-old right-hander is well on track for his first All-Star selection, with a career-best 2.86 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 91 innings. Ryan, who struck out major league home run and RBI leader Cal Raleigh three times on Wednesday, has an 0.887 WHIP that's the third best in baseball among pitchers with a qualified amount of innings. After the game, he delivered a sermon of sorts on the value of the art of pitching over the data-driven revolution that has defined the approach for about every team in the sport. 'At the end of the day, it's a competition and you can't really put numbers to everything that goes into that,' Ryan said. That competitive edge is an ace-like attribute that Ryan clearly has. 'I think he likes being the man, and I think he likes having the ball in his hands,' Baldelli said. Over the three-week stretch entering their game on Wednesday, the Twins had a 7.67 ERA that was by far the worst in MLB, according to Sportradar. Their 1.62 WHIP was the worst during that span from June 5-24 while they lost 15 of 18 games and tumbled into fourth place in the AL Central. 'We're the ones to blame, including myself,' said starting pitcher Chris Paddack, who took the lead along with pitching coach Pete Maki during the pregame meeting on Wednesday. 'It's just tough, a lot of crooked numbers the last couple of weeks, but it's going to change.' Before López and fellow starter Zebby Matthews were sidelined by shoulder injuries earlier this month, the Twins were in a groove on the mound. Their 13-game winning streak in May was fueled by the starting pitching, which ranked fifth in MLB with a 3.40 ERA and third with a 1.16 WHIP through June 4. 'The meeting was something that really stemmed from the following idea: There are things you can control and that you should attack and there are things that you have less control over,' Baldelli said. 'Not that those things aren't going to be on your mind, but focus on the things that you can clearly control and do those things exceptionally well and start there. That was a good reminder, I think, for everyone in the room.' ___ AP MLB:
