Shota Imanaga was in his zone and had a no-hitter going. The Chicago Cubs lefty was on fire on the MLB opening day in Tokyo. He kept the Dodgers hitless through four innings. But only when things got a little more interesting, Manager Craig Counsell pulled him from the game.

And well, naturally, fans were not happy!

Imanaga threw 69 pitches, racked up four walks, two strikeouts, and the most important – allowed zero hits. His control sure seemed shaky at times, but he was getting the job done.

And his fastball? It touched 93.8mph with mixed-in splitters, changeups, and even a curveball.

Shota Imanaga made a quick impact and breezed through the first inning with just nine pitches. He retired Shohei Ohtani on a groundout, got Tommy Edman to fly out, and struck Teoscar Hernandez out in three pitches. But the walks in second and fourth might have made Counsell rethink.

Despite the backlash, Craig Counsell has come out to defend his decision. He cited that there was a pre-set pitch limit of 70. Imanaga at 69 pitches had already labored through four walks in the opener game. So with it being so early in the season, he felt that was the right time to take him out. “Getting to 70 pitches was the number we had for Shōta; after he finished that inning, it was the right time to take him out,” said Counsell.

Even Yoshinobu Yamamoto had a lighter workload and threw 72 pitches over five innings. So maybe this time teams didn’t want to tire out their players early on. But fans are not taking it lightly.

Fans are mad at Chicago Cubs Imanaga’s quick exit

The fundamental question remains—was it needed to take him out? This wasn’t any game, but the first-ever opening day between two Japanese-born starting pitchers, and fans wanted to see how deep this goes. And fans haven’t been kind in the comments to express their displeasure.

A fan directly called out that as Imanaga goes, suddenly it’s a different pace. It just sums up the frustration, because while Imanaga’s control wasn’t the best, he was getting much of the job done. He got pulled out, and boom— the Cubs are suddenly behind. They had got out Ben Brown, wasting no time—but things didn’t work. Brown gave up a run in the fifth, breaking the combined no-hitter, and it led to Chicago now at 4-1.

The fans are calling this the great start—oof, the sarcasm does run deep. And why not? If Craig Counsell had to trust someone for the job, Imanaga would be it. He is in his home country, had all the loud cheering, and not to forget, he finished fifth in Cy voting and fourth in Rookie of the Year. So why not let him work it through?

The comment makes you almost hear the exasperation there. This decision had fans almost fuming. Because it’s not the first time a managerial move has backfired like this. But yes, maybe Counsell was playing it safe. Imanaga did have a rocky second inning, issuing back-to-back walks to Will Smith and Max Muncy. It did look like trouble. But it’s difficult to justify Counsell’s decision because Imanaga did manage to get out of the jam without allowing a run.

The comment screams of heartbreak that have been going on for years, and the Chicago Cubs did see this story play out plenty of times. A strong starting performance, then the balloon blows it over. However, Imanaga, although he struggled a little, soon regained the momentum in third. He struck Andy Pages and Ohtani and Tommy Edman quickly. In the fourth, he wobbled but still was out of trouble. But instead of seeing if he could push through, Counsell made that call, and it crashed. No wonder fans are mad.

Yes, despite the controversy, one cannot ignore how good Imanaga simply did. His pitch mix was on point, and this is huge when one is playing on opening day and this historic stage. He has potenial, because remember he had Shohei Ohtani at 0-for-5 with a strikeout last season. But this was another chance to see them battle it out. Alas none of the fans could watch that out!

Instead of the sherry form, the decision to pull him out now is the main story.

Right now, the Chicago Cubs seem to be under pressure. Do you think they ruined much of the game by playing it safe?