CHICAGO– Shota Imanaga and two Cubs relief pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter to lead Chicago to a 12-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.
Imanaga (12-3), a 31-year-old left-hander in his first season with the Cubs after playing eight seasons as a pitcher in Japan, had seven strikeouts and two walks in seven innings, throwing 66 of 95 pitches for strikes.
He needed 25 pitches to get through the second inning. His season high is 103 pitches against St. Louis on June 15. Imanaga did not make an out in the eighth inning.
Imanaga signed a four-year, $53 million contract in January. Chicago paid a transfer fee of $9,825,000 to the Yokohama BayStars of the Japanese Central League.
Nate Pearson pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning and Porter Hodge pitched a perfect ninth in the Cubs’ 18th no-hitter, the first since Zach Davies, Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin and Craig Kimbrel combined to keep Los Angeles hitless at Dodger Stadium on June 24, 2021.
This was the fourth no-hitter of the season, following complete performances by Houston’s Ronel Blanco against Toronto on April 1, San Diego’s Dylan Cease in Washington on July 25 and San Francisco’s Blake Snell in Cincinnati on April 2.
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