Shota Imanaga hopped off the mound to end the seventh inning as he watched the latest Pittsburgh Pirate flail and fail to get a hit.
Imanaga’s stellar night ended with that strikeout of Pirates third baseman Jared Triolo, exiting after seven no-hit innings Wednesday night at Wrigley Field. With his pitch count up to 95, not helped by a pair of Isaac Paredes errors in the sixth, manager Craig Counsell turned to his two hard-throwing relievers, Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge, for the final two innings.
Pearson and Hodge picked up where Imanaga left off, combining to throw a no-hitter in the Cubs’ 12-0 win. Hodge forced Oneil Cruz to weakly ground out to shortstop Dansby Swanson to end the game.
It marked the 18th no-hitter in franchise history and the second combined no-no. The Cubs’ last no-hitter was also a combined effort by Zach Davies, Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin and Craig Kimbrel at Dodger Stadium on June 24, 2021.
It was the Cubs’ first no-hitter at Wrigley since Milt Pappas in 1972.
Imanaga’s main trouble came in the second when he walked two batters, prompting a visit from pitching coach Tommy Hottovy. Otherwise, the trio of pitchers deftly navigated the Pirates lineup in the blowout win.