Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga is off to an incredible start but his reaction to giving up a home run against Boston was priceless.
Starting pitcher Shota Imanaga has done plenty to endear himself to Chicago Cubs fans since he arrived in January.
It’s to the point where even his rare mistakes are kind of hilarious.
Imanaga started for the Cubs on Friday night against the Boston Red Sox in a game they won 7-1 at Fenway Park.
The one run the Red Sox scored came off the bat of Tyler O’Neill, a solo home run in the fourth inning. He sent the pitch to one of the deepest parts of Fenway, where the center field wall meets the Green Monster.
The shot went 403 feet and cut Chicago’s lead to 3-1.
It was really the only mistake that Imanaga made, as he cruised through 6 1/3 innings, giving up five hits, one earned run, and one walk while striking out seven.
Most Major League pitchers are beside themselves when they give up a home run.
Imanaga? Well, he seemed to take it in stride with a reaction that is likely to be considered GIF-worthy.
Imanaga has been a huge boost to a Cubs rotation that lost Justin Steele on Opening Day, didn’t get Jameson Taillon back until last week, and just placed Kyle Hendricks on the injured list.
Imanaga is now 4-0 with a 0.98 ERA in 27.2 innings, with a 0.80 WHIP.
According to OptaStats, he is just the second player to have a 4-0 team record, 20 or more strikeouts and a sub-1.00 ERA through their first four career MLB games since ERA became an official statistic in 1913.
The other is Boo Ferris in 1945 when he debuted for the Boston Red Sox.
Ferris went on to go 21-10 and make the American League All-Star team.
Imanaga looks like he’s on track to make the National League All-Star team at this rate.
