From his entertaining pitching style to his trips to Dunkin’ Donuts, Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga has moved with a purpose in his transition to the major leagues.

Chicago starter Shota Imanaga lowered his ERA to 0.84 on Saturday after throwing seven shutout innings in the Cubs' 1-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, the lowest mark through a pitcher's first nine career games since ERA became official in 1913.

The best pitcher in MLB this season was a free agent from Japan, but it’s not the one we all expected. Shota Imanaga has overpowered hitters despite a 92 mph fastball.

BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs host the Atlanta Braves to open a three-game series. Chicago has gone 14-9 in home games and 26-22 overall. The Cubs are 17-4 in games when they scored at least five runs. Atlanta is 27-17 overall and 11-9 on the road. Braves hitters have a collective .411 slugging percentage to rank seventh in MLB.

Jack Suwinski hit a solo homer and Nick Gonzales singled in two runs as the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2 on Sunday to take three of four games in the series.

Pregame analysis and predictions of the Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Chicago Cubs MLB game to be played on May 19, 2024 on ESPN.