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. |
Columbia switches to hybrid learning amid protests over Israel's war in GazaOlympic gold medalist Allisha Gray hopes to be part of US 3x3 team in Paris GamesUnited Methodists open first topThe UK pledges $620 million in new military aid for UkraineEddie Redmayne puts on a lovedAbortion returns to the spotlight in Italy 46 years after it was legalizedElection 2024: Republican candidates vying for Indiana governor to take debate stageNASA finds new mutant bacteria in SPACETrial opens for former Virginia hospital medical director accused of sexual abuse of exMissouri hires Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch for the same role with the Tigers