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Japanese left-hander Shota Imanaga (32, Chicago Cubs), who is on the big league stage, was hit hard in the exhibition game.
Imanaga started the exhibition game of the Chicago White Sox and 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona on the 2nd (Korea time), and was shaken by four hits (three homers) and one strikeout and three runs (three earned) in two ⅔ innings.
On this day, the White Sox formed the starting lineup in the order of Austin Hayes (designated hitter), Edgar Cuero (catcher), Colson Montgomery (striker), Lenin Sosa (first baseman), Tanner Murray (third baseman), Brooks Baldwin (center fielder), Breden Montgomery (right fielder), Dustin Harris (left fielder), and Jacob Gonzalez (second baseman). The starting pitcher was Anthony Kay.
In response, the Cubs made the starting lineup in the order of Nico Horner (second baseman), Alex Bregman (third baseman), Ian Hep (left fielder), Michael Bush (first baseman), Dansby Swanson (striker), Pete Crow-Armstrong (center fielder), Carson Kelly (catcher), Michael Confoto (right fielder), and Moises Ballesteros (designated hitter). The starting pitcher is Shota Imana.
Imanaga struggled with a run from the top of the first inning. He guided leadoff hitter Hayes to a groundout to third base. However, he was hit by a solo shot over the left-center fence by a follow-up Cuero. That was the end of the first crisis. After striking out Colson Montgomery, who entered the next at-bat, he finished the first inning by catching Sosa with a fly ball to center field.
Then, with the team tied at the bottom of the first inning, the top of the second inning. Imanaga seemed to finish the inning safely by throwing out Murray to shortstop and Baldwin to fly to right field, respectively. However, he gave up a solo shot over the left-center fence to follow-up Brad Montgomery for his second run. Gonzalez grounded out to first base. The end of the inning.
Imana also took the mound in the third inning. However, this time, he gave up a solo shot over the middle fence against the leadoff hitter Hayes. The score was 1-3. Imana, who continued to ground out Cuero to third base and thinned out Coulson Montgomery to third base fly balls, respectively. In the end, that's it. The Cubs put Jane Mills on the mound instead of getting Imanaga down.
Earlier on the 25th of last month, Imanaga pitched two innings of three hits and no runs against the San Diego Padres. As a result, Imanaga's performance in this year's exhibition game after pitching on the day was 5.79 ERA without losing or losing in both games. In a total of four ⅔ innings, he has seven hits (three home runs), two strikeouts, 0 walks, 3 runs (three earned runs), a hit rate of 0.333, and a on-base allowance per inning (WHIP) of 1.50.
Meanwhile, Imanaga signed a four-year contract worth $53 million (76.8 billion won) with the Cubs prior to the 2024 season through the posting system. In nine games since the opening of that year, he has achieved a record-breaking ERA of 0.84. In the end, he ended the 2024 season with 15 wins, 3 losses and a 2.91 ERA. He also recorded 147 strikeouts.
In the 2025 season, Imana pitched in 25 games and recorded 9 wins, 8 losses and a 3.73 ERA. However, the number of homeruns, one of his fatal weaknesses, was 31 following the 2024 season (27). Prior to the 2026 season, Imana signed a single-year contract, accepting a qualifying offer offered by the Cubs. His annual salary in the 2026 season is 22.25 million dollars (about 31.6 billion won).
Imana will not participate in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) competition. The club was dissuaded by its history of being on the injured list twice last season, and Imana also accepted it.
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*This content was translated by AI.
