Chicago Cubs' Shota Imanaga Makes Baseball History in Opening Day Performance

The Cubs lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the Tokyo Series, but Imanaga did his part.

Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga (18) throws against the San Diego Padres in the first inning at Sloan Park on March 4. / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday in Game 1 of the Tokyo Series in Japan on Tuesday morning.

The Cubs are now 0-1 while the World Champion Dodgers are 1-0.

Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on a double by catcher Miguel Amaya, but they gave the lead back in the fifth inning, as the bullpen allowed three runs (two earned).

Though the Cubs lost, it was not the fault of starting pitcher Shota Imanaga, who was making his first career start in his home country as a big leaguer.

The lefty threw four scoreless innings, giving up no hits while striking out two.

His performance also made baseball history, according to @JayHayKid of Underdog Fantasy.

Shota Imanaga is the first pitcher in baseball history to have a start of exactly 4 IP with no hits allowed in a team’s first game of the season.

Shota Imanaga is the first pitcher in baseball history to have a start of exactly 4 IP with no hits allowed in a team’s first game of the season.

— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) March 18, 2025

The 31-year-old is coming off a year in which he went 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA. In 173.1 innings, he struck out 174 batters. This is his second year in the big leagues.

He wasn't the only Cubs player to experience a homecoming on Tuesday, as Seiya Suzuki also got to play in front of his home country. He went 0-for-4.

On the other side, Shohei Ohtani went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and Yoshinobu Yamamoto earned the win with five solid innings.

The two teams will play again Wednesday with first pitch also at 6:10 a.m. ET.

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