CUBS NO-HITTER: Well, you’ll forgive me if I’m not quite as excited as I would have been had Cubs manager Craig Counsell let Shota Imanaga stay in the game. But even though the Cubs starter was pulled after seven no-hit innings and just 95 pitches, the CHICAGO CUBS HAVE NO-HIT THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES! It was just a combined effort between Shota Imanaga, Nate Pearson, and Porter Hodge.
Chicago Cubs No-Hitter vs Pittsburgh Pirates
Shota Imanaga’s night ended at just 95 pitches after seven no-hit innings, and I’m sure Craig Counsell will tell you it was a decision made to protect him (his previous career high was 103). And, listen, I know what I’m supposed to say here “Yadda yadda … it was probably the right call … yadda yadda … Cubs have him under contract for several more years … yadda yadda.” But I’m sorry, I just don’t like it. I can understand the logic, but I’m not going to defend it.
At the end of the day, this is all about entertainment … and even more frankly … 95 pitches is not 105 pitches. We could have at least seen if he had like a 3-pitch 8th inning, right? Let him go batter-to-batter? Sigh. Like I said, it’s still a cool moment for the team as a whole, but it’s tough not to be a little bummed.
And I don’t want to throw Isaac Paredes too far under the bus, buuuuuuuuut his THREE errors tonight probably cost .
At least Craig Counsell w🎶as kind enough to use Porter Hodge in this one to help lock down the Cubs no-hitter in the ninth inn💛ing!
Final Lines in Cubs No-Hitter
Shota Imanaga: 7.0 IP, 0H, 0ER, 2BB, 7K
Nate Pearson: 1.0 IP, 0H, 0ER, 0BB, 0K
Porter Hodge: 1.0 IP, 0H, 0ER, 0BB, 0K
And here’s the final out of the game – it was the second combined Cubs no-hitter in franchise history.
The last combined Cubs no-hitter was also the most recent Cubs no-hitter, and it happened on June 24, 2021 (Zach Davies, Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin, and Craig Kimbrel). And although the direction wasn’t ideal, the Cubs’ fortunes turned on a dime after that one … maybe that’ll happen again as we near the end of the season.
It was also the first Cub𓄧s no-hitter 👍at Wrigley Field since 1972!
UPDATE: Here’s Craig Counsell on why he pulled Shota Imanaga.
“It’s always hard to do in that situation. But, look, you’re taking care of Shota. It’s 100% about taking care of Shota and making sure we’re doing the right thing for him. It’s not fun to do. But when you’re prioritizing the player’s health … we don’t know what’s going to happen moving forward, and we want him to stay healthy. He’s at a career-high in innings and doing a great job. He actually didn’t know he had a no-hitter going at all, which is funny. But Tommy (Hottovy) and I talked about it, we considered (pulling him), frankly after the sixth inning. But that was, for us, the right thing to do.”
