The Cubs and Dodgers battled to a rather mundane 4-1 effort in the first game of the 2025 season, with the reigning champions coming out on top.
In case you weren't awake for the early call time for the Tokyo Series opener, you can view the full highlights of the game here, courtesy of Major League Baseball.
The game featured two of the best starting pitchers in the league, both of whom are also Japan natives: Shota Imanaga and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Both performed well, especially given that this game took place in the middle of spring training, combining for one run allowed in nine innings. Imanaga even held the mighty Dodgers hitless through his four frames of work, though there was a key part of his game that was mysteriously absent — his control.
Shota Imanaga's walks shouldn't be the beginning of a trend
In 173 1/3 innings last season, Imanaga walked just 28 batters. His walk rate was a comical 4.0%.
Dating back to his time in the NPB, Imanaga's control has always been one of his best and most refined skills. His mastery of the strike zone is Cliff Lee-esque, and a big reason why he's able to dominant major league hitters with an arsenal primarily comprised of a 92 mph fastball and a (really good) splitter.
In 2024, Imanaga's rookie season in the MLB, he walked at least two hitters in just six of 29 starts. He walked at least three hitters just twice. He never walked four or more hitters in a start. Do you want to guess how many he walked in his first start of 2025?
Four.
Shota Imanaga’s 4 walks are a career-high. He issued 3 walks total during the entire month of April last season (5 starts).
— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) March 18, 2025
Now, it's worth noting that the strike zone was erratically called by home plate umpire Bill Miller (remember, the ABS challenge system from spring training doesn't carry over into the regular season this year), and Imanaga was visibly perplexed by some of the calls.
It's also important to keep in mind that adrenaline was running high (Opening Day, pitching in front of his home crowd in Japan against the reigning champions) and that the southpaw still isn't fully stretched out (he was pulled after just 70 pitches and four innings). This is likely an aberration that won't repeat itself too often in 2025.
But what if it does? What if Imanaga's long-running penchant for finding the strike zone falters, even a little bit? Will he have to produce constant no-hit outings to remain effective as a starter?
Well, not necessarily. And it's important to look at the data, which shows that Imanaga didn't really struggle to throw strikes — he just threw balls in ill-timed situations.
Shota Imanaga made his 2025 debut!
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) March 18, 2025
Imanaga fired off 4 scoreless innings as his velocity looks back to last year’s level. He struggled with walks, issuing 4, but he had no problem generating whiffs with his fastball and splitter
Baseball is back! pic.twitter.com/S4LmOgJF6f
Throwing about two-thirds of your pitches for strikes is pretty darn solid, especially when you can generate a ton of whiffs on your two primary pitches, as Imanaga did.
All things considered, this was a really good start for the lefty ace of the Cubs. Sure, he may have played with fire against a really talented lineup, but it's not like his walks were a result of him simply being unable to locate the plate.
Assuming he can get that under control (no pun intended), Imanaga may be set up for an even better season than he had in 2024.