Cubs’ first-year southpaw Shota Imanaga shined in his debut outing with the Chicago Cubs. The left-hander tossed six scoreless innings and struck out nine in a sharp initial start. Toeing the rubber for Chicago’s home opener against the Colorado Rockies, the 30-year-old Japanese hurler helped send Cubs fans home happy in a 5-0 victory.
Happy Home Opener at Wrigley Field in Chicago
Shota Imanaga shined in what was otherwise a dreary April Chicago afternoon. It was around 50 degrees with a constant drizzle for the Cubs home opener against Colorado. A Nolan Jones blunder in the sixth inning broke the scoreless tie and plated three runs. Christopher Morel made it all the way around the bases and brought some much-needed energy to the Chicago crowd.
An inning later Cody Bellinger added two runs on a single to put the Chicago Cubs up 5-0. After Shota Imanaga took care of the first six innings, Yency Almonte and Drew Smyly finished the shutout. The Cubs fans that stuck it out in the miserable conditions were rewarded with a convincing win and the season’s first rendition of Go Cubs Go.
Shota Imanaga Unphased in Chicago Cubs Debut Start
Shota Imanaga made his first appearance in the majors and his first in front of the Wrigley Field faithful. If he was nervous, Imanaga didn’t pitch like it. Former and renowned Chicago Cubs player Kris Bryant got on base due to another Christopher Morel error in the second. Shota did not allow another baserunner until he gave up the Rockies’ first hit to Charlie Blackmon in the sixth inning. Imanaga has been touted as a control pitcher and if his first outing is any indication, this reputation is well-earned. The southpaw did not allow a walk all day. He didn’t compromise on control for effective out pitches as he fanned nine Rockies.
Rockies second-baseman Brenden Rodgers became the first strikeout victim of Imanaga’s career in the first inning. Over his six innings, Imanaga baffled Colorado batters with his mix of velocity and off-speed, up, down, left, and right pitch locations and timing. The big ticket weapon for Imanaga was his splitter. Shota was able to throw it at any time and in any location he wanted.
The Rockies are destined to be cellar dwellers in 2024 so today’s results may be overstated. That being said, after Ryne Sandburg got the crowd going with his appearance to throw out the first pitch, Wrigley Field became a loaded environment. Dealing with that and making his first trip to a major league mound in his first career start, Shota Imanaga did about as well as anyone could anticipate.
Looking Ahead for the Chicago Cubs
With the injury to Justin Steele, Imanaga’s contributions to the Chicago Cubs become even more crucial. Imanaga’s next scheduled start is Sunday, April 7th versus the Los Angeles Dodgers at 1:20 PM CT. The Cubs next game is tomorrow at 6:40 PM CT versus the Colorado Rockies.
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