Cubs’ Shota Imanaga, 2 relievers combine to no-hit Pirates

CHICAGO —  Shota Imanaga wasn’t disappointed when he was removed after seven hitless innings and 95 pitches.

“He actually didn’t know he had a no-hitter going at all, which is funny,” Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.

Nate Pearson and rookie  Porter Hodge each followed with a perfect inning to finish a 12-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night, the Cubs’ first no-hitter at Wrigley Field since 1972.

“That’s 100% about taking care of Shota and making sure we’re doing the right thing for him,” Counsell said. “It’s not fun to do, but when you’re prioritizing the player’s health and you don’t know what’s going to happen moving forward, we want him to stay healthy.”

This was almost a no-hitter that almost never was. Cubs third baseman Isaac Paredes had three errors in the game, including a throwing error on the second play of the game that allowed Bryan Reynolds to reach base. The play was originally ruled a hit and later changed to an error.

Imanaga (12-3) struck out seven and walked two, throwing 66 pitches for strikes.

A 31-year-old left-hander in his first season with the Cubs after pitching in Japan for eight seasons, Imanaga has not recorded an out in the eighth inning this season and has thrown a high of 103 pitches.

He needed 25 pitches to get through the second inning. He complimented catcher Miguel Amaya, who posed for photos with the three pitchers after the final out.

“Miggy studies the hitters, and there were a few occasions today where there was a specific pitch I wanted to throw, Miggy had a different sign, and I just trusted him and it worked out,” Imanaga said through an interpreter. “I can’t thank him enough.”

Imanaga agreed in January to a $53 million, four-year contract. Chicago paid a $9,825,000 posting fee to the Yokohama BayStars of Japan’s Central League.

“The way he works, the presence, the confidence that he shows up there, every pitch is with intention,” Amaya said. “He’s a grinder.”

With Imanaga and Hodge, it’s the first combined no-hitter in MLB history to have a rookie start and finish the game, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

Chicago’s previous no-hitter was by Zach Davies, Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin and Craig Kimbrel at Dodger Stadium on June 24, 2021. Chicago had not pitched a no-hitter at Wrigley Field since Milt Pappas against San Diego on Sept. 2, 1972 — Pappas was one pitch from a perfect game when umpire Bruce Froemming called ball four on a full-count pitch to Larry Stahl. Garry Jestadt then popped out.

Chicago ended a streak of 4,147 regular and postseason games at Wrigley Field without a no-hitter, the second-longest for a team in a single ballpark behind Pittsburgh, according to Opta. The Pirates never had a no-hitter in 4,773 games at Forbes Field from 1909 to 1970.

Cubs players celebrated when shortstop Dansby Swanson threw to first baseman Michael Busch for the final out on Oneil Cruz’s grounder but were more muted than during celebrations after individual no-hitters.

Swanson insisted on staying in the game despite the blowout.

“He goes about his work the same every day, whether he’s had a good outing or a bad outing,” Swanson said on Imanaga. “He’s always wanting to get better. He’s always doing the routine that he needs to do to be able to go back out again in five days and be able to pitch well. He’s always prepared. He has his own way of doing things and takes full pride and responsibility to do that.”

This was the fourth no-hitter this season after complete-game efforts by Houston’s Ronel Blanco against Toronto on April 1, San Diego’s Dylan Cease at Washington on July 25 and San Francisco’s  Blake Snell at Cincinnati on Aug. 2.

Nico Hoerner, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Swanson each had three of Chicago’s 17 hits, with Swanson and Crow-Armstrong both finishing a triple shy of the cycle. It was just the sixth no-hitter in MLB history in which a team outhit the other by at least 17, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Domingo Germán (0-1), who pitched a perfect game last year for the New York Yankees against Oakland, allowed seven runs — six earned — and nine hits in three innings.

Seiya Suzuki hit an RBI single in the first, and Chicago opened a 4-0 lead in the second when Crow-Armstrong had a run-scoring double and Happ hit a two-run single.

Swanson’s two-run homer and Crow-Armstrong’s solo shot boosted the lead to 7-0 in the third. Cody Bellinger hit a two-run homer in the sixth against Kyle Nicolas.

Pittsburgh’s Rowdy Tellez allowed Miles Mastrobuoni’s RBI single in the eighth, the first baseman’s third mound outing this season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.