Shota Imanaga Paid Paul Skenes Back for Pirates Ace's Helpful Tip

Tim Capurso | May 1, 2025

Skenes (left) receiving a pointer from Imanaga (right). / Screengrab Twitter @TalkinBaseball_

Before a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs in August of 2024, then-rookie Paul Skenes took some time to share a pitching tip with fellow first-year pitcher Shota Imanaga of the Cubs. On Thursday, Imanaga returned the favor for Skenes.

Meeting with Skenes on the field at PNC Park before Thursday's game, Imanaga, with the help of interpreter Edwin Stanberry, appeared to be showing the Pirates ace a particular pitching grip, just as Skenes had done for him in '24.

Paul Skenes gets some pointers from Shota Imanaga, one season after Skenes says he helped Imanaga no-hit the Pirates 😂 pic.twitter.com/0rGY7MZFuh

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 1, 2025

Funnily enough, Skenes's advice to Imanaga came back to bite him later on in the '24 campaign, when the Cubs southpaw pitched seven no-hit innings against the Pirates a week after receiving advice from the '24 National League Rookie of the Year.

"I regret this one a little bit," Skenes said at an All-MLB Awards show in Las Vegas during the offseason. "Shota came up to me when we were in Pittsburgh and he asked me how I held my fastball. And not my sinker. And so I was like, 'Yeah, here you go dude, like, whatever, check it out.' "

"And then he no-hit us his next outing," Skenes said with a laugh.

Imanaga recounted that the talk he had with Skenes may have contributed to the stellar outing.

It's unclear if Skenes utilized any pointers from Imanaga during Thursday's outing. The Pirates flamethrower tossed five innings of three-run ball, walking four batters while striking out a pair.

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