Chicago Cubs All-Star lefty Shota Imanaga has been a revelation in his first season with the franchise, as he has quickly become one of the best pitchers in the National League.
The 30-year-old was named to his first All-Star team last month, and has spent a majority of his first season with a sub-3.00 ERA, as he has helped anchor the Cubs' starting rotation.
Imanaga didn't have his best stuff in his latest start on Thursday night against the NL Central rival St. Louis Cardinals. Imanaga earned a no-decision, going 6.2 innings while allowing four earned runs on 10 hits.
His last pitch of the night was a 54 mile-per-hour curve ball that looked more like an eephus. Cardinals star Paul Goldschmidt sat back on it and hit a double into the right center field gap. The alarmingly slow breaking ball ended Imanaga's night.
Shota Imanaga threw a 54 MPH curveball to Paul Goldschmidt that got hit for a double and that was his last pitch of the night pic.twitter.com/MoMZZAss94
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 2, 2024
Cubs manager Craig Counsell immediately pulled Imanaga from the contest after his 90th pitch of the night. Chicago ended up beating St. Louis 5-4 to improve to 53-58 on the season.
Hopefully all is well with Imanaga health-wise exiting his latest start. The Cubs can't afford to lose him from the rotation if they want to keep their longshot playoff hopes alive.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Shota Imanaga Threw a 54-MPH Pitch and Got Yanked Right Away.
