Imanaga’s Dominant Outing

Shota Imanaga carried a no-hit bid through six innings Friday, striking out nine before the Chicago Cubs turned to the bullpen in a 2-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. (mlb.com) Imanaga threw 100 pitches at Wrigley Field on April 10 and did not allow a hit in his six innings. Cubs manager Craig Counsell lifted the left-hander before the seventh, and Pittsburgh broke through against reliever Julian Merryweather. (mlb.com) Bryan Reynolds supplied the only runs with a two-run homer, and Pittsburgh starter Carmen Mlodzinski held Chicago in check as the Pirates won 2-0. The loss dropped the Cubs to 6-7, while Pittsburgh improved to 8-5. (cbssports.com) The outing gave Imanaga 20 strikeouts and a 2.81 earned run average through 16 innings in his first three starts of 2026. His game log shows seven strikeouts against Washington on March 29, four against Cleveland on April 5, and nine against Pittsburgh on April 10. (espn.com) Imanaga already had one no-hit chapter against Pittsburgh. On September 4, 2024, he worked seven no-hit innings before two Cubs relievers finished a combined no-hitter, the 18th in franchise history. (mlb.com) The 32-year-old left-hander arrived from Japan before the 2024 season and made an immediate impact in Chicago. Major League Baseball lists him as a 2024 National League All-Star who finished his first season 15-3 with a 2.91 earned run average. (mlb.com) His April 10 line also echoed his Major League debut on April 1, 2024, when he struck out nine Colorado Rockies hitters over six scoreless innings. Baseball-Reference lists that debut as a 6.0-inning, two-hit, nine-strikeout win. (baseball-reference.com) Counsell said removing Imanaga at 100 pitches was “the right decision,” and Imanaga agreed through interpreter Edwin Stanberry after the game. The no-hit bid ended, but the six innings kept him at the center of another Cubs-Pirates game that brushed against history. (mlb.com)