Must-see Sho: Imanaga's 0.84 ERA lowest ever through first 9 starts

Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga stood on the mound and yelled, soaking in the noise at Wrigley Field after striking out Michael A. Taylor to end the seventh inning on Saturday afternoon. He then slowly walked off the field with some more history in his back pocket.

With another seven scoreless frames for the North Siders in a 1-0 walk-off win over the Pirates, Imanaga lowered his ERA to 0.84 on the season. No pitcher in baseball history has posted a lower mark through their first nine career starts since ERA became an official statistic in 1913.

“When you start getting in this territory,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said, “you have to be a little surprised, for sure. We’re fortunate to watch it.”

Prior to Imanaga’s run out of the gates this season, the lowest ERA through nine career starts (excluding openers) was the 0.91 mark spun by Fernando Valenzuela in his sensational rookie showing for the Dodgers in 1981.