Scoreless streak ends, but Shota still has yet to allow an ER

SEATTLE -- As Shota Imanaga watched Christopher Morel make a pair of game-saving defensive plays on Saturday night, the Cubs' pitcher imagined hoisting the third baseman onto his shoulders in celebration.

“It’s called ‘kataguruma,’” Imanaga explained via his interpreter, Edwin Stanberry, following the Cubs’ 4-1 victory over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. “I wanted to congratulate him like that.”

Thanks to Morel’s work in the field, plus some standout relief appearances, it was Imanaga who was able to celebrate some history after his latest performance. The Japanese rookie has been one of baseball’s best early-season stories, showing off his elite arsenal and advanced ability to adapt through the first three starts of his Major League career.

Imanaga pieced together 5 1/3 innings against Seattle with no earned runs on his pitching line. That made Imanaga the first Cubs pitcher since at least 1913 (when the earned run became an official statistic) to begin a career with three straight appearances featuring no earned runs and at least four innings pitched.

“Shota's incredible,” Cubs reliever Mark Leiter Jr. said. “The way he handles himself, the type of person he is, it's all been great. And then, obviously, the pitcher that he is has really been a joy to watch.”

When the smoke cleared on Imanaga’s latest effort, the 30-year-old lefty had given up one unearned run -- due to a missed-catch error by first baseman Michael Busch in the second inning -- while allowing five hits and striking out four. He walked two, ending a streak of 56 batters faced without a free pass to begin his MLB career.

It all added up to a few accomplishments:

• Imanaga joined the Reds’ Andrew Abbott (2023) and the Yankees’ Luis Gil (2021) as the first pitchers to have four-plus innings and no earned runs in their first three career outings (all starts) since at least 1913.

• Imanaga, Abbott, Gil and the Tigers’ Bernie Boland (1915) had four-plus innings and no earned runs in each of their first three career starts since at least 1913. Boland had two relief appearances before making a start for the first time.

• Before Imanaga, the last Cubs pitcher to have at least a three-game streak (within the same season) including no earned runs allowed and at least four innings pitched was lefty Cole Hamels from June 2-12, 2019.

Overall, Imanaga has not allowed an earned run through 15 1/3 innings to start his Cubs career. He has 16 strikeouts against two walks with just nine hits allowed.

“I thought it was really good stuff,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said of Imanaga’s outing against the Mariners. “I thought he pitched well. It was a little different than the first two.”

Imanaga said he was able to identify Seattle’s approach early on.

“They had a plan and they were making adjustments,” Imanaga said. “It just showed me that these are the great hitters of MLB. I really felt that today. I noticed they weren't swinging at the splitter.”

To Imanaga’s point, the lefty featured 22 splitters within his 90 pitches and Seattle only swung at the pitch seven times. That is a 31.8% swing rate on that specific pitch. In his first two outings combined against the Rockies and Dodgers, Imanaga threw 31 splitters and enticed 19 swings (61.3%).

With the Mariners refusing to chase his pitches, Imanaga relied heavily on his fastball and even generated more grounders than usual.

“I was able to adjust,” Imanaga said. “When they don't chase [the splitter], that's fine. It's making sure that the quality of my fastball stays on par.”

Imanaga did require some help to maintain his 0.00 ERA on the year, though.

After walking Mitch Haniger and Jorge Polanco to open the sixth, Imanaga induced a sharp grounder off the bat of Mitch Garver. Morel dove to his right, snagged the ball and quickly shifted to his feet to complete a strong throw to first for the out. One batter later, Leiter took over and Dylan Moore sent a liner up the third-base line, where Morel made a leaping catch.

Leiter escaped the inning unscathed, preserving a 2-1 lead and setting things up for the bullpen to hold the line for the win.

“That changes the game right there,” Counsell said of Morel’s play. “They may have the lead if that ball [from Garver] gets into the corner. That was a huge play. He made some real nice plays tonight overall. It’s definitely a really big defensive game for Christopher.”

It had Imanaga picturing that Japanese celebration.

“With his defense,” Imanaga said, “we were able to win.”