Shota Imanaga is back to his 2024 form.
The Cubs need him to stay that way.
Imanaga pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits, striking out five and walking one, in the Cubs’ 2-0 victory Saturday against the Diamondbacks. Benefitting from strong defense, Imanaga helped the Cubs win their 10th game in a row at Wrigley Field for the first time since 2008.
‘‘If I’d pick anywhere to win, it would be here because we have [81] games here,’’ manager Craig Counsell said. ‘‘We’re playing good baseball. Simple as that.’’
The winning streak at Wrigley is nice, but the Cubs have bigger goals. They view themselves as a National League contender and a team with a legitimate chance to win big in October.
To do that, the rotation will need to overcome what has happened in the first month. Cade Horton is gone for the season after having surgery on his right elbow, and Justin Steele’s return is unclear after a setback in his recovery from surgery on his left elbow last year.
‘‘That’s the beauty of this group, too,’’ shortstop Dansby Swanson said. ‘‘It’s just really that mentality that no one’s going to feel sorry for us, that we have injuries at key spots and we have guys that continue to step up.’’
Yes, the Cubs have proven starters in Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Edward Cabrera and Colin Rea. All have done their part and helped the Cubs to a 21-12 start.
But a strong Imanaga raises the ceiling for the group and buys the front office time before it needs to bolster the rotation.
‘‘This is who Shota is,’’ said left fielder Ian Happ, who homered in the second inning and finished a single short of the cycle. ‘‘The second half of last season was more of coming off injury and some other things than the actual version of Shota.’’
At the end of last season, Imanaga arguably had turned into a liability. Perhaps bothered by a hamstring injury that might have affected his mechanics, he was a different pitcher than the one who became a fan favorite and a contender for the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year award.
In the last three months of last season, Imanaga gave up 24 home runs and had a 4.36 ERA. He was even worse in the playoffs, allowing three homers in 6 2/3 innings.
Imanaga and the Cubs looked headed for a divorce. Both sides declined their contract options for 2026, though the Cubs did give him a $22.025 million qualifying offer.
Imanaga accepted the offer in November. So far, it looks like a tidy bit of business for both sides. The 32-year-old left-hander has allowed one run or fewer in five of his seven starts and has a 2.40 ERA.
‘‘We saw this guy in ’24 and how good he can be,’’ Happ said. ‘‘He’s done a great job of continuing to grow in this league. He learned from last year.’’
One thing Imanaga is learning is how to use Wrigley Field to his advantage. On Saturday, the wind blew steadily from right to left. Imanaga made sure to avoid letting right-handed hitters do damage to their pull side because those drives had a chance to go out. Against left-handers, he was more aggressive in the zone.
The plan worked. More important, the Cubs got another indication that Imanaga will be a useful part of a rotation that already has taken some hits.
‘‘The manager, the pitching coaches have expectations for us,’’ Imanaga said through a translator. ‘‘All I’m trying to do is meet those high expectations.’’