Inside The Cubs

Paul Skenes Says He Gave Advice To Shota Imanaga Before Cubs Ace Threw No-Hitter

Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes shared a funny story of how he accidentally gave Chicago Cubs ace Shota Imanaga advice that led to him throwing a no-hitter.

Dylan Sanders

Sep 4, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga (18) delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at Wrigley Field.
Sep 4, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga (18) delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at Wrigley Field. / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
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Chicago Cubs rookie ace Shota Imanaga had a great debut season in the United States after coming over from Japan last winter, and it looks like it could partially be thanks to some advice from a rival pitcher.

Ahead of the All-MLB ceremony on Friday night, the MLB shared a funny clip to social media that showed Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes sharing a story about some advice he gave that led to Imanaga's contribution to the combined no-hitter earlier in the year.

"I regret this one a little bit because Shota came up to me when we were in Pittsburgh and he asked me how I held my fastball and my not sinker. So I was like here you go dude, like whatever check it out," said Skenes while chuckling. "Then he no hit us his next outing."

The clip also shows Imanaga seemingly confirming that this talk helped him out during his next appearance against the Pirates.

"Maybe looking back, the reason I had a good game was maybe that talk," said the interpreter while Imanaga gave a knowing smile and laugh.

While the talk may have helped Chicago's ace out, he might not have needed the help to shut down the Pittsburgh offense.

Imanaga faced the Pirates twice this season, once before talking to Skenes and once after.

His first outing came in mid-May and it was an absolute gem in its own right. He struck out seven batters and gave up just four hits while walking just a single batter.

The next was at the start of September, after the Cubs visited Pittsburgh in a previous series. He went seven innings once again and struck out another seven batters, walking two along the way.

Of course, this one ended in a combined no-hitter.

It wasn't the only reason Chicago won that game, though, since the offense posted an impressive 12 runs that would have been hard to overcome.

While Skenes' advice surely helped Imanaga out, the Cubs ace had seemingly already figured things out since he was one of the best pitchers in baseball before that outing.

This could be the birth of a friendly, but competitive rivalry within the NL Central over the next few years. Both pitchers were favorites to win NL Rookie of the Year at points this season, with the Pirates ace looking like the lock to take it home.

Skenes was similarly dominant against Chicago this season.

The Pittsburgh megastar made his big league debut against the Cubs and went on to face them three more times this past season. He finished with an ERA of 2.25 with a K/9 of 13.5.

The two will likely think twice about handing out advice to each other next time.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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