Shota Imanaga of Japan of the Chicago Cubs pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in New York.
11:25 JST, May 2, 2024
NEW YORK (AP) — Shota Imanaga continued the historic start to his big league career Wednesday night, pitching seven innings to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 1-0 victory over the New York Mets.
Imanaga (5-0), making his sixth start, allowed three hits and walked one with seven strikeouts to lower his ERA to 0.78. On Wednesday, the 30-year-old became the first pitcher since 1901 to go 4-0 with an ERA under 1.00 and at least 28 strikeouts in his first five starts.
Shota Imanaga of Japan of the Chicago Cubs pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in New York.
The Mets got two against Mark Leiter Jr. in the eighth, before Yency Almonte struck out Tyrone Taylor and Starling Marte. Hector Neris got his fifth save when he hit Pete Alonso with one out in the ninth and gave up a double to JD Martinez before getting Jeff McNeil to turn into a double play. McNeil flew out to the left and Alonso was thrown out at home by Ian Happ.
Former Mets farmhand Pete Crow-Armstrong — who was dealt to Chicago at the 2021 trade deadline for Javier Báez — had a sacrifice fly in the fifth, four pitches after his bat flew out of his hands and into the net above the dugout. home when he missed an offer from New York starter Jose Buto. The bat was retrieved by Citi Field security immediately after the sacrifice fly that Matt Mervis drove in.
Butto (0-2) gave up four hits in six innings for the Mets, whose starting pitchers have posted a 1.33 ERA in the last four games. He struck out six.
