MILWAUKEE -- When Shota Imanaga took the mound on Wednesday, it was his first start in 11 days. After having his last start on May 24 against the Cardinals rained out, the Cubs decided it was best to skip his turn in the rotation as he adjusts to the MLB level.

But that extra rest did not work in his favor. Imanaga gave up a season-high seven runs across 4 1/3 innings in the Cubs’ 10-6 loss against the Brewers at American Family Field.

“He just wasn't as sharp as we've seen in the past,” manager Craig Counsell said. “They hit his mistakes and they got the ball in the air good. So it just wasn't a great night for Shota.”

Imanaga entered the 10th start of his career with a Major League-leading 0.84 ERA and 58 strikeouts. In front of him was a Brewers offense that wasn’t great against left-handed pitching. As a group, Milwaukee was hitting just .214 when facing southpaws this season.

However, things went awry for Imanaga right from the start. He allowed a leadoff double to Joey Ortiz and then a towering two-run homer to Christian Yelich two batters later. Yelich’s home run was also the rookie’s first extra-base hit from a left-handed hitter this season.

Things didn’t get better for Imanaga from there. He allowed five runs on five hits in the third inning -- highlighted by a Blake Perkins two-run home run.

“There’s a lot of things in baseball that happen and you can’t really explain them,” Yelich said. “I think we had some really good at-bats, we got some pitches to hit and we didn’t really miss them.”

For the first time in his MLB career, Imanaga endured some struggles on the mound. He allowed seven runs on eight hits with one walk and just one strikeout across 4 1/3 innings. The outing pushed his season ERA up to 1.86, and those seven earned runs were more than the left-hander had given up in his first nine starts combined (five).

“Obviously, he's been unbelievable,” outfielder Ian Happ said. “It was impossible for him to sustain that number. This day was coming, it was going to happen. He’ll learn from it, figure out what was a little bit different today and come back with another start.”

It was surely an unusual start for Imanaga, especially considering his dominance against every other team he has faced this year. Even though the left-hander last pitched on May 18, he didn't attribute that long layoff to his struggles on Wednesday.

“It was good for recovery,” Imanaga said through translator Edwin Stanberry. “I got my training in and I felt good. I think there wasn't really an issue with that. I felt really recovered.”

Imanaga knew that a rocky start was going to happen eventually and that finally came on Wednesday against the rival Brewers. He only induced six swings and misses -- his second-fewest of the season -- and his fastball-splitter combo wasn’t working effectively throughout the night.

The 30-year-old plans to use a start like this to learn from his mistakes and improve.

“I just want to reflect on it [and] bring it into the second half,” Imanaga said. “There could possibly be games where they score even more runs. So I just want to reflect and move forward.”

Even with Wednesday's rough outing, it’s hard to ignore how valuable Imanaga has been to the Cubs in the first two months of the season. His 1.86 ERA still ranks third in the Majors behind Seth Lugo and Ranger Suárez, and he has given up one earned run or fewer in seven of his 10 starts so far in 2024.

“He’s been the definition of an ace,” Happ said. “He has been shutdown, going deep in games, he's just been unbelievable. He's kept us in games, given us a chance to win every time out and is just a special pitcher.”

Wednesday’s rough night will surely be a learning curve for the rookie in his first year in the league. But one thing is certain -- the Cubs love having Imanaga on their team.

“I guess the historic start is over, [but] the great start is still here,” Counsell said. “Nothing changes from my perspective. He's been a joy to watch. He's been a huge part of us getting a bunch of wins, and I look forward to seeing him going out there again.”