Shota Imanaga, 2 other pitchers throw first Cubs Wrigley Field no-hitter in 52 years

HISTORY.

Although we all wanted to see Shota Imanaga finish what he started, it's hard to fault Craig Counsell for pulling his 5-10, 175-pound left-hander (who is in his first MLB season) as he approached 100 pitches on the night, despite the no-hitter being intact. Regardless of that decision, the end result was what we all hoped for: a commanding Chicago Cubs win and a no-hit effort against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Cubs offense roared to life after being held scoreless Tuesday, plating a dozen runs in the 12-0 victory. Both Pete Crow-Armstrong and Dansby Swanson finished with three hits and three RBI apiece, each falling a triple shy of the cycle on the night. Cody Bellinger also homered and Ian Happ drove in a pair, as well.

Cubs make history in combined no-hitter against the Pirates

But the story was, unquestionably, the efforts of Imanaga, Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge, whose no-hit effort marks the first time the Cubs have been on the right end of a no-no at Wrigley Field since Milt Pappas back in 1972. This also marks the first no-hitter at Wrigley Field since Cole Hamels diced up Joe Maddon's young ballclub back in July 2015.

The Cubs are no strangers to doling out no-hitters in recent years. In the last 13 years, we've now seen six no-nos from Chicago hurlers, including a pair of combined efforts (tonight and the June 2021 no-hitter against the Dodgers, courtesy of Zach Davies, Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin and Craig Kimbrel.

Of course, two of those no-hitters came courtesy of Jake Arrieta during his historic 2015-2016 run when he was the best pitcher on the planet. One we all forget about is Alec Mills' no-no in an empty then-Miller Park back in 2020. And, of course, Carlos Zambrano also made history in Milwaukee, no-hitting the Houston Astros there in a game moved because of Hurricane Ike in 2008.

Bringing this full circle for a moment. What a start from Imanaga, whose date with history may very well have been derailed by lackluster defense at the hot corner by Issac Paredes. We can dig in more on that tomorrow, but for now, let's just enjoy the win, celebrate this amazing accomplishment and, hopefully, sleep a bit easier tonight heading into Thursday's off-day.