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.
Britain's new bonkers EV: Callum Skye is an £80k electric buggy built in Warwickshire
Children visited Xiamen Science and Technology Museum during winter vacation
Beijing slams Washington for spreading false info
Neatly arranged new energy vehicles await shipment to overseas markets
Kate Hudson hits the stage to debut songs from her new album Glorious at star
FM mourns Kissinger, hails his contribution to ties
Zhangjiagang Port maintain operation all night to ensure that ships do not overwhelm the port
Rugao boosts local textile enterprises to enhance quality and increase production
Bella Hadid goes braless in a thigh
Climate meet witnesses milestone declarations
College baseball notebook: Conference tournaments to decide NCAA automatic bids and many at
EHang air mobility mkt prospects taking flight