'Constantly learning' Imanaga off to impressive start with the Chicago Cubs
CHICAGO (AP) — The road for Shota Imanaga from Japan to the major leagues included at least one sharp observation that has served him well in his transition to life with the Chicago Cubs.
“Watching foreign players in Japan and how they try to figure out how to get support from the fans, essentially I’m just doing the opposite of that, coming over here,” Imanaga said through a translator. “It was something I thought about.”
From his entertaining pitching style to his trips to Dunkin’ Donuts — “Either I order a small iced latte or a medium,” he said — Imanaga has moved with a purpose in his acclimation to the big leagues. And he is making it look easy at the moment.
Relying on a deceptive four-seam fastball that he usually locates at the top of the strike zone, along with a splitter that plays at the bottom, Imanaga is 5-0 with a 0.84 ERA for the contending Cubs. The left-hander also has 58 strikeouts and nine walks in 53 2/3 innings — thrusting himself into the early conversation for NL Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award.
Related articles
‘The Blue Angels,’ filmed for IMAX, puts viewers in the ‘box’ with the elite flying squad
If you’re looking for a little bit of that “ Top Gun: Maverick ” spectacle and thrill at the movie t2024-05-21Judge and Stanton homer to back effective Cortes as streaking Yankees top White Sox 4
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton homered, Nestor Cortes won for the first time in 52024-05-21Overcharged gas fees to be refunded in Chengdu
The market supervision administration of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, issued a notice on Saturday abou2024-05-21China launches new remote sensing satellite
A Long March-2D carrier rocket carrying the Yaogan-42 02 satellite blasts off from the Xichang Satel2024-05-21Children are evacuated from school 'during an exam' after threat made via email
Children have been evacuated from a school with Year 11 students told to leave mid-exam after a thre2024-05-21China issues alert for geomagnetic storm
This photo taken with a mobile phone on May 11, 2024 shows the northern lights near Nanshan scenic s2024-05-21
atest comment