ST. LOUIS -- It was a sprint to first base that sent Shota Imanaga to the shelf seven weeks ago, removing an electric performer and personality from the Cubs’ rotation. So, of course, the lefty was tasked with hustling to cover first out of the chute in his return on Thursday afternoon.
Imanaga’s second pitch of the game induced a grounder off the bat of Cardinals left fielder Brendan Donovan, and the pitcher got to first in ample time to receive the throw from Michael Busch for the day’s first out. The show was off and running and Imanaga looked like himself in Chicago’s 3-0 victory over their rivals at Busch Stadium.
“I felt relaxed afterwards,” Imanaga said of the first play, via his interpreter, Edwin Stanberry. “And I think the team felt the same way. I was able to stay calm and make the play. I think there was a sigh of relief after that.”
The Cubs’ rotation held its own in Imanaga’s absence, but there has been a consistency to the lefty’s performance since he stepped onto a Major League mound for the first time last year.
Imanaga made the All-Star team in ‘24 and was in the conversation for both the National League Cy Young and Rookie of the Year Awards. The lefty then earned the Opening Day nod for the Tokyo Series to set the tone for Chicago this season. He picked up where he left off, logging a 2.82 ERA in his first eight turns this year before the left hamstring injury struck.
“We need that guy. He’s special for us,” said Cubs reliever Daniel Palencia, who notched his eighth save by striking out the side in a tense ninth inning. “We’ve been needing him since he left. It feels great to see that guy pitching again. It feels good to be here to support him.”
In Thursday’s win, Imanaga hardly looked like a pitcher who had not faced MLB hitters since May 4, when he injured his left hamstring against the Brewers. With five shutout innings, Imanaga lowered his ERA to 2.54 on the year.
The Cardinals’ lone hit against the starter arrived in the first, when shortstop Dansby Swanson could not cleanly corral a sharp grounder from Masyn Winn with a back-handed attempt. The ball bounced into left for a single, and Imanaga shut things down from there. The left-hander struck out three, walked one and built up to 77 pitches.
“He controlled the environment,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “It looked like he’d been out there every single start. I think there’s a tendency to get a little over-amped in a start like that, and I thought he controlled his effort level really well, his energy really well and that caused a lot of really good execution.”
In the first inning, Imanaga executed a 92-mph fastball inside and at the top of the zone, striking out Willson Contreras swinging. The lefty used a precise splitter that faded to the low-outside corner of the zone for a strikeout of Garrett Hampson in the third. One batter later, it was Imanaga’s sweeper that ran away from Brendan Donovan’s bat for a punchout.
“I wouldn’t say 100 percent I felt completely under control with all my pitches,” Imanaga said.
Based on Thursday’s results, that is bad news for hitters.
“You’re getting one of the best pitchers in the game back in the rotation,” Cubs outfielder Ian Happ said. “That’s obviously a huge boost for us. I’ve said this a few times now, it’s like trading for somebody in the middle of a season to get that guy back, a top-of-the-line starting pitcher. You saw what he did today.”
The Cubs’ offense offered some support in the second, when Michael Busch launched a two-out solo homer (109.6 mph exit velocity, per Statcast) off St. Louis righty Andre Pallante. In the fourth, Happ drew a bases-loaded walk. Pete Crow-Armstrong scored from third in the eighth when Swanson got into a run-down between first and second and was caught stealing, adding an important insurance run.
St. Louis threatened in the seventh, when reliever Brad Keller worked around two walks with some help from Crow-Armstrong, who made a sliding catch on a deep fly to the right-center gap (40% catch probability). Escaping that jam, as well as Palencia’s performance in the ninth, helped the Cubs leave St. Louis with a split of the four-game set.
“It was really good,” Imanaga said. “I was very grateful, because during my rehab process, the team was playing really well. So today, I didn’t really feel like my first start coming back from rehab. It was just, ‘OK, let’s even up the series.’ I’m very grateful.”