No ordinary rookie: Imanaga flirts with no-no, K's 9 in MLB debut

CHICAGO -- Shota Imanaga bounced off the mound at Wrigley Field and unleashed a yell amid a riotous response by the North Side crowd. The fastball he had just fired past the bat of Colorado’s Nolan Jones served as the exclamation point on one of the more memorable debuts in Cubs history.

After leading the Cubs’ to a 5-0 win in cold conditions in the team’s home opener on Monday, Imanaga was asked what exactly he shouted during that moment in the sixth inning. Imanaga, who flirted with a no-hitter and struck out nine in the first start of his MLB career, cracked a smile as his interpreter, Edwin Stanberry, relayed the question.

“I'm not sure what I yelled,” Imanaga said. “But afterwards, I said, ‘Let's go!’ So I think I'm becoming a little bit more acclimated to the culture of the U.S.”

Imanaga has been winning a lot of people over since joining the Cubs.

In his introductory press conference in January, following the signing of a four-year deal worth $53 million, Imanaga won Cubs fans over by reciting the words to the team’s famous victory song, “Go Cubs, Go.” He kept it going by picking No. 18 in part to honor Cubs World Series MVP Ben Zobrist. Imanaga continued embracing local vibes on Monday, when he warmed up to the Chicago Blackhawks’ goal song, “Chelsea Dagger.”

“I was able to go to a Chicago Blackhawks game,” Imanaga said. “It's a song that I picked so the fans will enjoy it.”

Imanaga won over his teammates throughout the spring. He tried not to use his interpreter unless it was absolutely necessary behind the scenes, helping him learn English. He dropped by a local Arizona Target store to buy his own football after seeing how much his teammates enjoyed tossing one around. Players around the room talk about his great sense of humor.

“He takes in the right stuff and then he kind of throws some stuff out,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “But that ability just to make adjustments, that’s being a Major League Baseball player. And he’s good at it. You can tell he’s really good at it. I look forward to his journey.”

The only thing left to win was a Cubs game that counted.

“That was an awesome first performance,” Cubs left fielder Ian Happ said. “I'm excited that he's on our team.”

Through the first five innings, Imanaga’s only blemish was a missed-catch error by third baseman Christopher Morel that allowed Kris Bryant to reach safely. Imanaga then set down the first two batters in the sixth, joining Amaury Telemaco (May 16, 1996) as the only Cubs pitchers in at least the last 50 years to open an MLB debut with 5 2/3 no-hit frames.

Imanaga filled up the zone and led with his fastball (used 56 times), mixing in 24 splitters, 10 sweeping sliders and two curves. Overall, he generated 20 whiffs, per Statcast. That marked the third-most swinging strikes by a pitcher in his Major League debut in the pitch-tracking era, which goes back to 2008.

“Really, to me, it was just how much he attacked the zone,” Cubs catcher Yan Gomes said. “That's what makes it fun to be able to switch pitches and be able to go into a game plan.”

Imanaga’s no-hit bid ended in the sixth, when Charlie Blackmon and Brendan Rodgers connected for consecutive singles. After the first, Imanaga took a moment to collect himself behind the mound, while the fans filling the Friendly Confines offered a warm ovation for his efforts. He then struck out Jones for his final act.

The Japanese lefty became the first Cubs pitcher with at least six scoreless innings and nine strikeouts in an MLB debut since at least 1901. He is the second pitcher in MLB history (Pittsburgh’s Nick Kingham in 2018) with six scoreless frames, no walks and nine strikeouts in an MLB debut.

“It was clear that this is a player who's been in big moments,” Counsell said. “He's been through this before and, again, that was part of what went into all this.”

That was a repeated sentiment in the clubhouse after the win -- reminding that Imanaga is no ordinary rookie. Last year, he started for Japan in the gold-medal game of the World Baseball Classic and then went on to lead Nippon Professional Baseball in strikeouts.

“It's his first time in the big leagues,” Happ said. “But he's done this for a long time. He really understands what gets him going.”

And Imanaga sure seems to know how to win people over along the way.

“I'm glad to have him as a teammate,” Morel said via translator. “I wouldn't want to face him.”