"It's not an easy place where 80% of the pitches work." A 31-year-old veteran left-hander who realized the level of ML, 10 runs in 3 innings → 3 runs in 6 innings
"It's not an easy place where 80% of the pitches work." A 31-year-old veteran left-hander who realized the level of ML, 10 runs in 3 innings → 3 runs in 6 innings
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Imanaga started the game against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco on the 28th (Korea Standard Time) and recorded five hits, two walks, three strikeouts and three runs in six innings. The Cubs won 5-3 after a game-winner.
With 93 pitches, Imana faced off San Francisco batters by banking on four-seam (66 pitches), splitter (19 pitches), sweeper (6 pitches) and curveball (2 pitches). The maximum speed of four-seam ball reached 94.6 miles (152.2 kilometers), and the ratio of swing and miss hitters stood at 29 percent. He overwhelmed San Francisco's batters with no loss until the fifth inning, but it was regrettable that he allowed three runs in the sixth inning.스포츠토토
Imanaga is a veteran left-handed pitcher who recorded an ERA of 3.18 in 165 games (1,002 ⅔ innings) in the eight seasons of the Japanese pro baseball (2016-2023). He successfully entered the Major League this season by signing a four-year contract of 53 million U.S. dollars with the Cubs. In the early days of the season, he showed an overwhelming performance by winning the Rookie of the Year award in the National League in April.
However, he fell into a slump in June. In the game against Milwaukee on June 30, Imanaga began to falter as he was sluggish in four ⅓ innings with eight hits (two homers) with one walk, one strikeout and seven runs lost, and posted a 5.67 ERA in five games (27 innings) in June. In the game against the Mets on June 22, he pitched the worst since his Major League debut with 11 hits (three homers) with one walk, three strikeouts and 10 runs lost.
Imanaga, who has 7 wins, 2 losses and a 3.07 ERA in 15 games (85 innings) this season, lowered his ERA to 0.84 on the 19th of last month, but later lost his overwhelming appearance, soaring his ERA to 3.07 in six games.
The Junichi Shimbun, a Japanese media outlet, said, "Cups pitcher Imanaga started the away game against the Giants and allowed three runs in six innings, failing to become a winning pitcher. He allowed one hit and no run until the fifth inning, but allowed three runs in the sixth inning alone. The team won the game 5-3 in overtime."
In an interview after the game, Imana said, "I lost a lot of runs in the sixth inning. I think I could have thought about it more. I made a mistake from myself. I didn't feel it was a place where I could beat my opponent without throwing all my might in the previous game. I didn't forget that reflection, and today I kept throwing with all my might to see if I could maintain it until the middle of the game." He continued, "I reflected on why I tried to stop myself from doing anything here. I was very overconfident about myself. It really made me study that if I didn't use as much energy as I did today, it wouldn't work."
"If I don't pitch like this today, I can't compete equally with my opponent," Imana said. "It's been a good study. I've been very anxious for the past week. I'm going to spend my next game feeling anxious. Coach Counsell was right when we had a meeting during the spring camp. Even if you're right, you just have to stand up. Getting punched is not bad. He said what happens next is important. This week was quite a difficult week because I got punched too much, but I hope you'll see how much I want to get up again."