PITTSBURGH -- It’s safe to say Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga has laid to rest any idea of a sophomore slump.
After finishing 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA and an All-Star selection en route to a fourth-place finish in the Rookie of the Year voting a year ago, Imanaga has picked up right where he left off through the first full month of the 2025 season, showing once again that he’s one of the most effective arms in the National League.
Imanaga helped put the Cubs back in the win column on Tuesday night by firing five-plus scoreless innings in a 9-0 victory over the Pirates in the series opener at PNC Park.
The 31-year-old left-hander found himself in a groove early in his outing, retiring seven of the Pirates’ first eight batters. Pittsburgh loaded the bases against Imanaga in the fifth via a pair of two-out base hits and a walk, but he responded by striking out Bryan Reynolds looking, on three pitches, to get out of the jam. The Bucs scattered six hits, but on each occasion, Imanaga was able to work out of the trouble.
“That’s what you expect from Shota,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He’s shown us time and time again. The two outings before, I think he pitched pretty well. Some things didn't go right for him. That’s what you expect. We’re spoiled by it.
“He’s got the unique fastball that is just hard to get on top of. You put it in that part of the strike zone, it's even harder. Hitters really cheat to get on top of it ... you can’t because of the [splitter]. That’s the genius of the way Shota pitches. Those unique properties to the fastball and the level of execution make it really hard.”
Imanaga was visited by team trainers following a leadoff double by Andrew McCutchen in the sixth inning, then he was subsequently pulled from the game with the Cubs leading, 4-0. Imanaga said he felt some discomfort the inning prior, and it later worsened, which he expressed to Counsell and the Cubs’ medical staff.
While the team erred on the side of caution and removed Imanaga from the game, he doesn't believe it will stop him from making his next start.
Imanaga pounded the upper half of the zone with his four-seam fastball throughout his outing. He also used his splitter on the inside part of the plate as an effective putaway pitch, getting five whiffs, including all three of his strikeouts against Pirates outfielders Oneil Cruz and Reynolds. Imanaga walked just one batter and struck out three on 87 pitches, while lowering his season ERA to 2.77.
“From my previous start, within the week, I was talking to Tommy [Hottovy], Casey [Jacobson], Tyler [Zombro], all the pitching coaches, and I think a focus was trying to establish that top of the zone,” Imanaga said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “That’s kind of what I worked on through the whole week, so I was looking forward to the outing and I’m glad it went well.”
After both of his difficult outings this season in which Imanaga allowed five runs -- first against Texas on April 9 and then against the Dodgers last Tuesday -- he has been able to right the ship in his following start with at least five scoreless frames. He has now opened the season by holding opponents to one or zero runs in five of his seven starts.
The bounceback shouldn't come as any kind of a surprise to Cubs fans. In his nine previous full professional seasons -- including careers in the Nippon Professional Baseball League and the Australian Baseball League -- Imanaga has finished with an ERA above 3.25 just once. He’s well on his way to pushing that streak to 10 this season.
“He’s very vocal, and he knows what he needs to do and what he wants to do out on the mound,” Cubs catcher Carson Kelly said. “So, it makes our job easy. He takes command. That’s what you want in a starter and he does a tremendous job.”