Shota Imanaga was not upset when he was taken out after seven innings without allowing any hits and throwing 95 pitches.
“He actually didn’t know he had a no-hitter going at all, which is funny,” said Chicago Cubs manager Counsell.
Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge each pitched a perfect inning to complete the Cubs’ 12-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night. This was the Cubs’ first no-hitter at Wrigley Field since 1972.
“That’s 100% about taking care of Shota and making sure we’re doing the right thing for him,” Counsell said. “It’s not fun to do, but when you’re prioritizing the player’s health and you don’t know what’s going to happen moving forward, we want him to stay healthy.”
Imanaga (12-3) struck out seven batters and walked two, with 66 of his pitches being strikes.
A 31-year-old left-hander, Imanaga is in his first season with the Cubs after spending eight seasons in Japan. He hasn’t pitched an inning beyond the seventh this season and his highest pitch count is 103.
He needed 25 pitches to get through the second inning. He praised catcher Miguel Amaya, who took photos with the three pitchers after the game.
“Miggy studies the hitters, and there were a few occasions today where there was a specific pitch I wanted to throw, Miggy had a different sign, and I just trusted him and it worked out,” Imanaga said through an interpreter. “I can’t thank him enough.”
Imanaga signed a $53 million, four-year contract in January. Chicago also paid a $9,825,000 posting fee to the Yokohama BayStars of Japan’s Central League.
“The way he works, the presence, the confidence that he shows up there, every pitch is with intention,” Amaya said. “He’s a grinder.”
Chicago’s last no-hitter before this one was by Zach Davies, Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin, and Craig Kimbrel at Dodger Stadium on June 24, 2021.
The Cubs hadn’t pitched a no-hitter at Wrigley Field since Milt Pappas did it against San Diego on September 2, 1972. Pappas was one pitch away from a perfect game when umpire Bruce Froemming called ball four on a full-count pitch to Larry Stahl. Garry Jestadt then popped out.
This ended a streak of 4,147 regular and postseason games at Wrigley Field without a no-hitter, which was the second-longest for a team in one ballpark. The longest was held by the Pittsburgh Pirates, who never had a no-hitter in 4,773 games at Forbes Field from 1909 to 1970.
The Cubs celebrated when shortstop Dansby Swanson threw to first baseman Michael Busch for the final out on Oneil Cruz’s grounder, but their celebration was more subdued compared to other no-hitter celebrations.
Swanson wanted to stay in the game despite the lopsided score.
“He goes about his work the same every day, whether he’s had a good outing or a bad outing,” Swanson said about Imanaga. “He’s always wanting to get better.
He’s always doing the routine that he needs to do to be able to go back out again in five days and be able to pitch well. He’s always prepared. He has his own way of doing things and takes full pride and responsibility to do that.”
This was the fourth no-hitter of the season. The previous complete-game no-hitters were by Houston’s Ronel Blanco against Toronto on April 1, San Francisco’s Blake Snell at Cincinnati on April 2, and San Diego’s Dylan Cease at Washington on July 25.
Nico Hoerner, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Swanson each had three of Chicago’s 17 hits, with Swanson and Crow-Armstrong both ending a triple short of the cycle.
