Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga in a September 2024 file photo. (©SANKEI)
Chicago Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga embraces the feedback he receives from the team's pitching coaches. He relies on their collective wisdom to navigate the challenge of the long MLB season.
It's one reason the 32-year-old southpaw starter is having a solid season for the Cubs, who are vying to earn a playoff berth for the second consecutive year.
Furthermore, Imanaga, who joined the Cubs in 2024, is grateful for the advice he receives from the team's coaches.
"The pitching coaches are giving me feedback and data," Imanaga said recently, according to MLB.com, "about what I've done well, what I've done poorly. And it's just looking at that and working with them and trying to make the good points better, as well as working on what I need to work on with data points that I wasn't doing as well.
"I've felt like I was able to accomplish that. I'm not a complete pitcher yet. I'm not the final product, and I feel like I'm pretty confident that I can get better and better."
In his last seven starts, Imanaga is 3-3 with an impressive 2.41 ERA to help position the second-place Cubs (64-49 through Monday, August 3) for a run at the National League Central title. The Milwaukee Brewers (69-43) are in first place.
When Imanaga is at his best, his pinpoint control is one of his top pitching attributes. That was on display in July, when he made five starts (2-3 record, 1.53 ERA) and held opponents to 25 hits in 29⅓ innings, issuing six walks and striking out 27.
Among the Cubs' Top Pitchers
Imanaga is the Cubs' leader in strikeouts (119), and the former Yokohama DeNA BayStars standout has the lowest ERA (3.67) among Chicago's starters.
What's more, Imanaga, with a 7-9 win-loss record, is second on the team in victories, trailing Colin Rea (8-8) for the overall lead.
After a 2-0 loss to the New York Yankees on July 31, a game in which Imanaga held the visitors to two runs and four hits in 6⅔ innings, teammate Ian Happ spoke about the Japanese pitcher's strong performances of late on the mound.
"He's been fantastic," the outfielder said of Imanaga, according to MLB.com. "It's been fun to watch. Not enough run support for him today, but he was fantastic."
Statistics support Happ's comments. In his last nine starts, Imanaga has a 2.09 ERA with 10 walks and 45 strikeouts in 51⅔ innings, the official MLB website noted in this report.
Yoshida Giving the Red Sox a Spark
Boston Red Sox designated hitter/outfielder Masataka Yoshida has helped the surging American League club continue its push for a postseason berth.
On Sunday, August 2, Yoshida stroked an RBI single in the first inning and clubbed a solo home run in the third, both off Los Angeles Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan at Dodger Stadium. Boston beat the hosts, 8-4, for its fifth straight win.
The Red Sox led off the top of the third with back-to-back solo homers by Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu. And with one out, Yoshida's blast gave Boston a 5-3 lead.
"Riding on that upbeat momentum, I was able to react well to a ball that came a bit inside," Yoshida said, according to Kyodo News.
"It was not perfect, but I believed that it would become a homer if it didn't curve foul."
Yoshida has hit at a .333 clip (7-for-21) in his past seven games.
The Red Sox (60-51) sit in third place in the AL East, trailing the New York Yankees (63-50) and the Tampa Bay Rays (66-46) in the standings.
Boston has won 25 of its past 30 games, including 14 of 17 since the All-Star break ended.
After batting .295 in April, the first full month of the MLB season, Yoshida's monthly average dipped to .254 in May and .229 in June. He rebounded by hitting .300 in July.
Mets' Senga Still Winless in 2026 MLB Season
New York Mets right-hander Kodai Senga, who has spent time as a starting pitcher and a reliever in recent months, is still seeking his first victory of the 2026 MLB campaign.
Emblematic of the Mets' struggles this season, Senga is 0-8 with an 8.66 ERA. He's pitched in 13 games, including eight starts for the NL East club.
Making his first appearance in 13 games on July 31, Senga took the loss in the Mets' 5-2 setback to the visiting Miami Marlins. He lasted four-plus innings as the starter, giving up two hits and three earned runs while walking two and fanning four.
A 12-game winner as an MLB rookie in 2023 with the Mets, Senga spent seven weeks on the injured list (lumbar spine inflammation) from late April to mid-June. He then went 0-3 before the All-Star break to slip to 0-7 before the calendar flipped to July.
After his first start in more than a month, Senga said he wants to make an impact for the Mets.
"All that I'm able to do and can do is go out and perform," Senga said, according to MLB.com. "Hopefully today becomes kind of a trigger to perform well in the future. But that's all I can do, so that's what I'm focused on."
Okamoto is Among Toronto's Top Contributors on Offense
Toronto Blue Jays rookie Kazuma Okamoto has hit safely in eight of the past 10 games.
The former Yomiuri Giants star leads the Blue Jays in homers (24) and RBIs (69) this season. He's hitting .231 through August 3.
In 2025, his final season with Yomiuri, Okamoto slugged 15 homers in an injury-shortened campaign (only 69 games). He belted a career-high 41 homers in 2023 for the Giants.
Okamoto, Toronto's starting third baseman, is tied for the team lead in games (110) with second baseman Ernie Clement.
In recent weeks, Okamoto grabbed the headlines by tying and breaking Shohei Ohtani's record for most homers by a Japanese MLB rookie.
Okamoto surpassed Ohtani's mark of 22, set with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018, in a 6-4 road loss to Boston on July 24, when he slugged a three-run homer in the seventh.
"I haven't got much to say [on the record]," Okamoto said, according to Kyodo News. "The most important thing is winning a game."
In 2025, Toronto appeared in the World Series for the first time since 1993.
This season, Okamoto and his teammates have endured a disappointing campaign. The Blue Jays (53-60) are in last place in the AL East.
By the Numbers
Dodgers superstar Ohtani is sixth in the NL in runs (71). He led the Senior Circuit with 134 runs in 2024, then repeated as NL leader with 146 in '25.
After smacking a career-high 55 homers in 2025, Ohtani is sixth in the NL with 24 round-trippers through Monday.
RELATED:
- MLB All-Star Munetaka Murakami Back in the Swing of Things
- Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Smacks 300th MLB Career Homer
- JAPAN SPORTS NOTEBOOK | Dave Roberts Reaches 1,000-Win Milestone
Author: Ed Odeven
Follow Ed's [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and he can be found on X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
