Cubs P 'Mike' Imanaga continues hot start vs. Cardinals
Cubs pitcher Shota "Mike" Imanaga "II" continued the hot start to his MLB career with a brilliant outing against the rival Cardinals on Saturday.
He finished Chicago's 5-1 win with one earned run and five baserunners allowed in seven innings pitched. Imanaga struck out six St. Louis batters, including left fielder Brendan Donovan to end a potential scoring opportunity in the top of the seventh.
After his last punch out, Imanaga roared and pumped his fist as he walked off the mound.
The previous day, reporters noticed Imanaga's nameplate on his clubhouse locker read "Mike Imanaga II," which the former Japanese League star explained was because he uses Mike when ordering coffee, while the II "just sounds cool."
At the rate he's going, it won't be long before everyone in Chicago knows how to spell "Shota."
FS1 shared a graphic during a game that showed how Imanaga's first 12 starts stack up in Cubs history.
Since 1910, his 1.96 earned run average (ERA) is the second-lowest to Zip Zabel (1913-15). He ranks third in strikeouts (72) and has walked the fewest batters (11).
With his latest stellar outing, Imanaga's ERA for the season dropped to 1.89.
MLB Network and Peacock analyst Rob Friedman highlighted some of Imanaga's filthiest pitches, including an 82 mph splitter that broke late and fooled Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn for his first strikeout.
Per Baseball Savant, Imanaga entered Saturday with one of the league's highest chase rates (35.2 percent), which ranks in the 95th percentile among MLB pitchers.
True to form, Donovan and Winn swung on pitches out of the zone for Imanaga's third and fourth strikeouts.
Whatever you want to call him, Imanaga might be better known as "Cy Young winner" by the end of the season.
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