Maeda (5-4) tossed seven shutout innings and allowed just three hits and a walk with nine strikeouts to earn his fifth victory Monday against the Cubs.
Maeda bounced back brilliantly from a shaky start last time out, also against the Cubs, in which he lasted just 3.2 innings. He induced a ridiculous 19 swinging strikes on just 84 pitches against a strong Cubs lineup and came just short of his fourth double-digit strikeout game. Maeda has had a few disastrous outings -- he has allowed more runs than innings pitched three times in 2018 -- but when he's on, he's well nigh unhittable, as he has now struck out 80 batters in just 68 innings. He'll take a 3.44 ERA in to his next start Saturday against the Rockies.