Chicago Cubs have the best record in MLB after Shota Imanaga's gem and 5 solo home runs fuel 6-0 win
The left-hander racked up two wins, allowing a combined one run on seven hits with two walks and 11 strikeouts in 14 innings against the two storied teams.
'He's one of the best pitchers in the world,' Cubs first baseman Michael Busch said of Imanaga.
And the Cubs are the best team in Major League Baseball after Imanaga tossed seven shutout innings Saturday night in a 6-0 win over the Red Sox in front of 40,703 at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs (59-39) hit five solo home runs to back Imanaga in surpassing the Detroit Tigers (59-40) for the majors' best record.
Leadoff hitter Busch hit the first pitch from Brayan Bello for his 20th home run of the season. Four pitches later, Kyle Tucker went deep for his 18th. Matt Shaw (third), Pete Crow-Armstrong (26th) and Ian Happ (13th) added late blasts to pad the lead and guarantee a series win.
The Red Sox (53-47) came to Wrigley on Friday riding a 10-game winning streak but have managed only one run in 18 innings. The Cubs won the opener 4-1.
Red Sox leadoff hitter Rob Refsnyder greeted Imanaga (7-3) with a first-pitch double, but Alex Bregman grounded out, then Imanaga struck out Romy Gonzalez and Roman Anthony to end the inning.
'It's mentally tough when that first pitch gets hit — especially for a double,' Imanaga said through an interpreter. 'At that moment, I thought that it's OK if I gave up a run. It's more important to stack up outs.'
The Cubs are 32-10 in Imanaga's starts over two seasons.
Photos: Chicago Cubs beat Boston Red Sox 6-0 at Wrigley Field'It's an honor to have those numbers,' Imanaga, 31, said. 'But there are times when you don't have a great outing because I have great teammates. I'm not scared if I have a bad outing because there will be people there to pick me up.'
There have been few bad outings for the Japanese star.
Imanaga was on the injured list from May 5 to June 26 with a strained left hamstring. In five starts since, he has pitched even better than he did before the injury, going 4-1 with a 1.78 ERA.
'Look, when you miss six or seven weeks, you don't expect to come back in peak form,' Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. 'It happens, but it's hard to do. But he's pitched really well.
'And that's the nature of pitching. You get locked in for 90 pitches and the next start doesn't promise you anything. You have to get locked in again. Shota is just so good at getting people out.'
While the Cubs could not match their record eight-home-run performance against the St. Louis Cardinals on July 4, the five-homer game was still impressive. It's the fifth time this season they hit five or more home runs in a game.
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