Bleacher Bunch Network: A Chicago Cubs Podcast · Bleacher Bunch Network:

Cubs Pod G13/ 4-11-26

April 11, 2026·19 min·1 clip

Shota Imanaga had a no-hitter going, then left the game, and the Cubs lost 2-0 to the Pirates.

Rocket opens with an apology for releasing the episode late and immediately provides the game's central paradox: the Cubs had six hits to Pittsburgh's three but were shut out 2-0. He was at the game in person after receiving a large group of unused tickets from other Cubs fans. Shota Imanaga started and dominated, recording nine strikeouts and allowing only one walk — to O'Neal Cruz in the second inning — through six innings of no-hit baseball. The Cubs lineup repeatedly put runners on base but could not convert. Nico Horner led off the first with a single but was stranded. Ian Happ walked to lead off the second but that inning too went scoreless. In the third, Carson Kelly singled and Dansby Swanson walked to put two on, but the inning ended without a run. In the fourth, the Cubs had Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki single, then Pete Crow Armstrong fly out to move Happ to third with two outs, but Carson Kelly walking loaded the bases for Moises Ballesteros, who lined out to Brian Reynolds. The Cubs continued to strand runners through the sixth as well. When Imanaga departed after six innings, Caleb Theobar entered and gave up a single and a home run to hand the Pirates a 2-0 lead — the only scoring in the game. Rocket criticizes Craig Counsell for pinch-hitting Matt Shaw with the bases loaded in the seventh inning rather than a more proven option like Dylan Carlson, calling the decision 'total malpractice' for a developing young player. Shaw struck out swinging, and then batted again later in the game going hitless. Rocket notes the team went zero-for-eight with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base. Relievers Ethan Roberts and Riley Martin are praised for their work out of the bullpen. Rocket also criticizes Dansby Swanson's placement in the nine-hole given his expensive contract, and contrasts his .140 average with the catchers — Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya — performing better at the plate. The episode closes with Rocket announcing he will watch Saturday's game at home rather than attend, citing his own 1-4 attendance record as a jinx, and previewing the Cabrera-Ashcraft matchup.

As heard by us

A 2-0 loss, a no-hitter bid, and a Cubs offense that never found a way through.

The episode is a blunt, frustrated recap of a 2-0 loss to the Pirates, and it leans hard on Shota Imanaga's no-hitter bid to hold the whole thing together.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a blunt Cubs autopsy after a 2-0 shutout and a no-hitter that vanished the moment Shota Imanaga left.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Bleacher Bunch Network: A Chicago Cubs Podcast