Cubs 4, Yankees 1: Imanaga Fans Judge Twice in Dominant Outing

Sunday, July 13th, 2025

NEW YORK — Shota Imanaga delivered seven brilliant innings on Sunday, striking out Aaron Judge twice, to power the Chicago Cubs to a 4-1 victory over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

In his fourth start since returning from a strained left hamstring, Imanaga (6-3) surrendered only a solo homer to Giancarlo Stanton in the second inning and a single to Austin Wells in the seventh. The left-hander finished with six strikeouts and just one walk.

Michael Busch and Dansby Swanson provided the offensive punch for the Cubs with home runs. The win pushed Chicago to 57 wins heading into the All-Star break, their highest total at the break since 2008. Daniel Palencia closed things out in the ninth for his 12th save, completing a two-hitter for the Cubs.

Stanton's second-inning blast was the 433rd of his career. The Yankees dropped their second consecutive game after winning five straight. Aaron Judge struck out twice against Imanaga's splitter, one day after hitting his 350th career homer.

Cody Bellinger went 0 for 3 on his 30th birthday, snapping his career-high 17-game hitting streak. Bellinger was traded from Chicago to New York in December.

Busch led off the game with a home run on Will Warren’s second pitch in his first career plate appearance from the leadoff spot. Dansby Swanson broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning with a two-run drive off Yankees reliever Ian Hamilton.

Pete Crow-Armstrong added an insurance run in the seventh with an RBI infield single that scored Seiya Suzuki from second. The run scored when shortstop Anthony Volpe's throw to first baseman Paul Goldschmidt bounced.

Yankees starter Will Warren (6-5) allowed two runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings.

Key moment

Carson Kelly started the sixth inning with a double hit over rookie left fielder Jasson Domínguez. After Ian Happ grounded out, Dansby Swanson stepped in and launched a go-ahead two-run homer into the left-field seats off newly inserted reliever Ian Hamilton.

Key stat

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Michael Busch became the first Chicago Cub to hit a home run in his first career plate appearance as a leadoff hitter since Willson Contreras achieved the feat on June 26, 2017, against Washington.

Up next

Cubs: Right-hander Colin Rea (7-3, 3.91 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday as the Cubs open a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Wrigley Field.

Yankees: Begin a three-game series at Atlanta on Friday night.

In summary

The Chicago Cubs defeated the New York Yankees 4-1 on Sunday, July 13, 2025, behind seven dominant innings from Shota Imanaga and home runs from Michael Busch and Dansby Swanson. Imanaga struck out Aaron Judge twice, limiting the Yankees to just a Giancarlo Stanton homer. The win gave the Cubs 57 wins heading into the All-Star break, their most since 2008, while the Yankees lost their second straight game.

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