Chicago Cubs' Rookie Continues to Shine with Another History-Making Effort on Wednesday

The Chicago Cubs beat the New York Mets, 1-0, on Wednesday night as Shota Imanaga once again delivered a brilliant start on the mound. The free agent from Japan, who signed this offseason, is in a very special group of baseball history through his first six starts.

May 1, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga (18) pitches / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Cubs beat the New York Mets on Wednesday, 1-0, at Citi Field. The ending of the game was certainly controversial but here's something that's not:

Cubs' lefty Shota Imanaga has been really, really good this season. And he was really, really good again on Wednesday.

The lefty out of Japan, who signed a contract with Chicago this offseason, went 7.0 innings, giving up just three hits and striking out seven. He allowed no runs and is now 5-0 with a 0.78 ERA for the year.

With his fantastic start to his career in the states, Imanaga is in some rare company in baseball history, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

lowest ERA in 1st 6 career starts, since ER official in both leagues (1913) excluding openers:

1981 Fernando Valenzuela: 0.33
1945 Dave Ferriss: 0.50
1913 Bob Shawkey: 0.75
2024 Shota Imanaga: 0.78

if we want 1st 6 career games, all starts, then it’s Ferriss, Shawkey and Imanaga

lowest ERA in 1st 6 career starts, since ER official in both leagues (1913) excluding openers:

1981 Fernando Valenzuela: 0.33
1945 Dave Ferriss: 0.50
1913 Bob Shawkey: 0.75
2024 Shota Imanaga: 0.78

if we want 1st 6 career games, all starts, then it’s Ferriss, Shawkey and…

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) May 2, 2024

The 30-year-old Imanaga certainly looks like one of the best pickups of the offseason and is a major reason why the Cubs are 19-12 and in first place in the National League Central. They are seeking a return trip to the playoffs after not having made it in each of the last three years.

The Cubs will finish out a series with the Mets on Thursday afternoon. First pitch from Citi Field is set for 1:10 p.m. ET as Ben Brown (0-1, 4.30 ERA) pitches for Chicago. He'll go up against righty Adrian Houser, who gets the ball for New York (0-3, 8.37 ERA).

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