Almost every time Shōta Imanaga takes the mound for the Chicago Cubs, something happens that we’ve either not seen in a long time or ever before. That wasn’t the case on Monday Night at Wrigley Field. However, he raised the bar for himself.
In Monday’s blowout win against the Oakland Athletics, Imanaga punched out a career-high eleven batters through six innings of work. A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson tripled on the first pitch of the game, but Imanaga settled in after that. The only runs he allowed were off a Brent Rooker home run in the third inning. That was all she wrote for the A’s, too. Imanaga’s final line was six innings, five hits, two runs, three walks, and eleven strikeouts.
Imanaga will probably fall short in the race for National League Rookie of the Year. But he is, without a doubt, the MVP of the Cubs in 2024. Through 28 starts to begin his MLB career, Imanaga has allowed three or fewer runs 25 times (that’s 89% of the time). He has a 3.03 earned run average in 166.1 innings pitched with 170 strikeouts.
The Cubs were excited when they were able to convince Shōta Imanaga to begin his MLB career on the North Side of Chicago. But no one could have expected he would be a top-ten pitcher in the game in 2024. He’ll be a vital part of the Cubs’ rotation moving forward.
Cubs’ Offense Backs Up Shōta Imanaga In Blowout Win
While Shōta Imanaga was doing what he does best on the mound, the offensive support was through the roof. The Cubs exploded for nine runs on eighteen hits. Michael Busch was the only starter not to reach base, and six players had at least two hits.
In the second inning, Joey Estes surrendered six consecutive hits, including a Dansby Swanson three-run bomb, before ending his night. His final line was one inning, nine hits, and five earned runs. Swanson finished the night 2-5 with four runs batted in. Seiya Suzuki, Isaac Paredes, and Miguel Amaya each had three hit nights of their own.
The Milwaukee Brewers are likely to clinch their NL Central title sometime this week. Their magic number is just two (combined wins and Cubs losses). However, the Cubs remain hanging on by a thread in the race for the final Wild Card spot to make the postseason. They are five games behind the New York Mets for that spot.
Anything can happen in baseball, especially as October nears. If the Cubs could send Shōta Imanaga to the mound every night for six-plus innings of two-run baseball, their chances would rise significantly. Unfortunately, that’s not possible.
