Shota Imanaga's Hot Streak Continues With a Win Over the Dodgers

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Shota Imanaga's turnaround season kept building on August 5, when he out-pitched the star-studded Dodgers at home.

The August 5 Start

Imanaga held the Dodgers to one run over five innings at Wrigley Field on August 5, striking out six as the Cubs won 7-6. It followed a strong August 2 outing against the Yankees — 6.2 innings, six strikeouts, no walks — in a 2-0 loss.

From a Rough Start to a Real Streak

Imanaga posted a 4.74 ERA across his first 13 outings of the 2026 season. Since June 10, he's turned that around completely, posting a 2.06 ERA over his last 10 starts. His season ERA now sits at 3.60 — a mark shaped much more by his recent form than his early-season struggles.

What To Know

Beating the Dodgers specifically matters here — Los Angeles has one of the most star-studded, Japanese-player-heavy rosters in the league (Ohtani, Yamamoto, Sasaki), and Imanaga out-dueling that lineup at Wrigley is a genuinely notable head-to-head result. It's also a real turnaround story: going from a 4.74 ERA in his first 13 outings to a 2.06 ERA over his last 10 shows exactly the kind of sustained, multi-start improvement that separates a hot game from a real hot streak.

Imanaga has reportedly credited part of his recent form to a lighthearted superstition — a new phone background featuring a photo teammate Ben Brown took of himself on a training table after borrowing Imanaga's phone. It's a small but genuine glimpse of MLB clubhouse culture: even a pitcher in the middle of a serious performance turnaround still leans on team humor and small rituals, not just mechanical adjustments.

What Fans Are Saying

• "Beating that Dodgers lineup at home is a genuine statement, not a fluke."
• "4.74 to 2.06 over his last 10 starts is one of the quieter great turnarounds in baseball right now."
• "Love that the phone background story is just genuine clubhouse fun, not some deep mechanical secret."

Original Japanese

• 「あのドジャース打線を本拠地で抑えるのは、本当にすごいこと」
• 「防御率4.74から2.06への変化は、今シーズン一番静かにすごいターンアラウンドかも」
• 「携帯の待ち受けのエピソード、深い理由じゃなくて素直に微笑ましい」

Easy Japanese

今永昇太投手は、8月5日のドジャース戦で1失点、6奪三振と好投しました。ここ10試合はとても調子が良く、防御率2.06という素晴らしい成績です。