CLEVELAND -- Shota Imanaga fired a two-strike splitter to Guardians slugger Josh Naylor in the fourth inning on Monday night that flirted with the bottom edge of the zone. The Cubs starter followed through and froze in his final position, digesting the umpire’s determination that the crucial pitch was a ball.

“I went to go watch the video afterwards, and I think it could’ve been either way,” Imanaga said via interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “But, I think that makes baseball interesting. My job out there is to continue to do well and make adjustments.”

It was not the decisive moment in the Cubs’ 9-8 loss at Progressive Field, but it was a pitch that showed how narrow the margin for error is right now for the North Siders. A strike call would have ended the inning. The ball ruling kept Naylor’s at-bat alive and sent the game spiraling into a wild back-and-forth affair the rest of the way.

Imanaga allowed six runs in a six-batter span following that missed pitch, forcing the Cubs’ offense into comeback mode after the Guardians built an 8-3 lead by the sixth. Chicago did indeed rally -- pulling the game into an 8-8 deadlock by the eighth -- but Cleveland made one final push to snap the Cubs’ four-game win streak.

It was a missed opportunity for a Cubs team desperately trying to stay in postseason contention.

“Any game you don’t win, it’s a missed opportunity,” said left fielder Ian Happ, who had a two-run homer, three walks and two outfield assists in the loss. “We played good baseball today. Sometimes that happens. That’s a really good team that we just played.”

The bottom third of the lineup was productive again for the Cubs, who received a three-run double from Dansby Swanson (No. 7 hitter) and a solo homer from Pete Crow-Armstrong (No. 8). Happ reached base four times out of the leadoff spot, while Nico Hoerner (RBI single) and Seiya Suzuki (sac fly) also chipped in.

That followed the recent trend for Chicago’s lineup, which has averaged 4.8 runs per game (157 in 33 contests) dating back to July 4. On Monday night, the Cubs jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the fourth inning, giving Imanaga an early advantage.

“We were up three runs,” Imanaga said. “If I could've kept it to three, and kept us in the game, I knew our offense would come through. They’ve been doing an amazing job.”

Imanaga held Cleveland’s lineup at bay until the fourth inning, when he issued a leadoff walk to Steven Kwan. That was the moment that Imanaga felt served as the first domino in the Guardians’ outburst.

“Giving up the walk gave them momentum,” Imanaga said. “Looking back, I think that’s the point of reflection.”

Two batters later, José Ramírez reached when Cubs third baseman Isaac Paredes made a fielding error with one out. Imanaga retired the next batter to bring up Naylor with two outs. After the 1-2 pitch did not go the lefty’s way, Naylor followed by pulling a sweeper into right for an RBI single.

That set things up for Jhonkensy Noel, who received a 1-2 splitter from Imanaga that dove well below the strike zone. The Guardians' right fielder shifted down with the pitch, getting off a low swing that ended with Noel on a knee. The baseball was sent rocketing out to left for a three-run, go-ahead homer (the first of two blasts on the night for Noel).

“It was a good pitch,” said Imanaga, who was charged with three earned runs in his five frames. “He hit the ball off one knee, so you’ve got to tip your cap to him.”

Imanaga said did not feel the same about his execution in the fifth inning, when he started Kwan off with an up-and-in fastball with a runner on first and no outs. The Guardians' left fielder ambushed the elevated offering, launching it out to right field for a two-run shot that put the Cubs in a 6-3 hole.

Manager Craig Counsell did not feel Imanaga’s final line necessarily reflected his performance.

“They hit two balls for home runs,” Counsell said. “Maybe the Kwan ball was a strike, but two pretty good pitches. So, give them credit for that.”

Happ cited the Naylor at-bat as a turning point.

“Shota threw some really good pitches today,” Happ said. “He made a really good pitch against Naylor that wasn’t called and it leads to kind of the bigger inning. There’s a lot of things to take away from that that were positive. He’s been so good for us all year and that’s not going to change.”