Shota Imanaga has thrived this season that it’s hard to be surprised by anything he does.

And yet Wednesday night will be the type of game that the 30,369 fans in attendance likely would not have expected — and will hardly ever forget.

Imanaga dazzled like only he can, throwing 7 hitless innings as the Cubs combined to throw a no-hitter in a 12-0 win over the Pirates. It’s the 18th no-hitter in franchise history and their first since Zach Davies, Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin and Craig Kimbrel combined to no-hit the Dodgers on June 24, 2021.

“Everybody got super excited,” Imanaga said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “I would say, compared to Japan, all the players here get more excited about a no-hitter. And it doesn’t matter if the guys didn’t play, guys didn’t get a hit, everybody congratulated me and everybody was cheering me on.

“And so I’m just thankful and I have a lot of respect for all my teammates who got excited for me and excited for the win.”

The 30-year-old rookie struck out 7 Pirates and was in cruise control most of the night — even when things seemed to get shaky. Third baseman Isaac Paredes made 3 errors on the night — including 2 in the 6th inning to put a runner in scoring position. But Imanaga hunkered down, striking out Oneil Cruz to kill the rally and keep the Pirates out of the hit column.

Complete coverage of the no-hitter
–WATCH: The final out as Cubs put finishing touches on no-no
–Every out from the 2nd combined no-hitter in franchise history
–Shota Imanaga wasn’t aware of the no-hitter during outing
–Craig Counsell explains thought process behind taking Imanaga out of game
–Amaya, Hodge react after final out
–Analyzing the epic pitching performance from Imanaga, Pearson and Hodge
–The final out from every Cubs no-hitter since 2008
–Alex Cohen and Jim Deshaies recap no-hitter
–Pat Hughes’ call of the final out
–Miguel Esparza’s call of the final out in Spanish

Sitting at 84 pitches, Craig Counsell turned back to his lefty for another inning and Imanaga delivered. He pitched a 1-2-3 7th inning, striking out Jared Triolo on a 91.1-mph fastball that elicited a jump and yell of excitement out of Imanaga as he walked off the mound.

Counsell turned to his bullpen in the 8th — a tough but needed decision. Earlier in the day, Counsell had lost his ace Justin Steele to left elbow tendinitis, landing on the 15-day IL, so he had every right to play it safe with his most consistent starter this year.

“Look, it’s always hard to do in that situation,” Counsell said. “But, just you’re taking care of Shota. I mean it’s 100% about taking care of Shota and making sure we’re doing the right thing for him.

“It’s not fun to do, but when you’re, prioritizing the players health  — you don’t know what’s going to happen moving forward, we want him to stay healthy, he’s had a career high in innings and doing a great job.”

Imanaga hasn’t missed time on the injured list, pitching 153.1 innings across 25 starts and if the Cubs hope to keep their playoff hopes alive, they need a healthy Imanaga down the stretch.

“When Craig came to talk to me, he mentioned the next outing, the outing after that, how it’s important to, make sure you’re ready,” Imanaga said. “And for me, too, it’s really important for me to stay healthy for the whole season, throw my innings, make my starts.

“He told me, it’s time to switch pitchers. And I just trusted his judgment, and I went with that.”

Counsell’s bullpen was more than up for the task. Nate Pearson — a reliever acquired at this year’s trade deadline — induced a pair of pop-outs and a ground out for a perfect 8th inning.

Porter Hodge, a rookie who started the year in Double-A picked up the final 3 outs — 3 groundouts to the Cubs’ Gold Glove shortstop Dansby Swanson.

At the final out, Miguel Amaya, the homegrown catcher hugged Hodge and covered his face in excitement as tears rolled down his face after catching his first no-hitter.

“I have a lot of respect for everyone; Porter, Nate, Miggy, all the defense,” Imanaga said. “I think as a starting pitcher, it’s a little easier [than] for the relief guys. They have to get ready, knowing the situation.

“They’re in tougher situation because there’s more pressure on them. So I’m just thankful for everybody today.”