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Cubs Ace Shota Imanaga Had Hilarious Description Of First Time In New York City

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Japanese rookie Shota Imanaga has been everything the Chicago Cubs could have asked for and more through the opening months of the MLB season.

He’s 5-0 with a staggering 0.78 ERA and has quickly become a massive fan favorite at Wrigley Field after an otherwise disappointing offseason.

On Wednesday, Imanaga made his first start in New York City against the Mets, and he came away with a hilarious impression of the city.

“The view from the hotel, I recognize it from Spider-Man,” Imanaga said through his interpreter. “So I was just like, oh, this is where Spider-Man was.”

As a noted comic book nerd and MCU fan boy, Imanaga clearly made himself a fan in this BroBible writer.

I mean, what better way to identify iconic NYC landmarks?

Shota Imanaga Continues Dominant Start To His MLB Career In New York City

Imanaga dominated against the Mets in a controversial 1-0 victory.

He pitched a career-high seven scoreless innings while allowing three hits and striking out seven batters. Imanaga threw 87 pitches (58 strikes). He said the velocity on his fastball was down, but starting with the fifth inning was back to normal, reaching 93.4 mph.

Imanaga became the first pitcher in Major League history since at least 1901 to go 5-0 with an ERA under 1.00 to begin his career.

“In terms of today, my fastball wasn’t at the highest, but I was able to communicate with [catcher Miguel] Amaya and make adjustments,” Imanaga said through his interpreter after the game “I was making sure I wasn’t throwing lazy fastballs in there where [the Mets] could make hard contact. I was trying to avoid the barrel. Some of them, I was lucky, but I was able to adjust.”

Chicago went on to win the game 1-0 on a controversial play at the plate for the final out of the ballgame. Mets star Pete Alonso was tagged out on a would-be sacrifice fly to left field. New York City challenged, claiming that Amaya blocked the plate.

But the call was upheld and the Cubs held onto the victory.