Shota Imanaga is must-see TV every time he takes the mound for the Cubs.

Each outing is a masterclass in pitching — and the bravado he shows on the mound contributes to that.

“He’s awesome, the best,” reliever Héctor Neris said with a smile. “The emotion he has, I love it. He enjoys what he does. I love that.”

Cubs fans are loving it, too. Imanaga is becoming a household name — even if he doesn’t leave his home too often to be spotted by fans on the street.

“If I’m being honest, I haven’t really walked around too much,” Imanaga admitted through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “I’ve been going from the field back to my house. The only time I really go out anywhere is buying my latte at Dunkin Donuts. Hopefully, I can keep doing well and keep putting up stats, so people recognize me while I’m walking around.”

So, at least he’s known at his local Dunkin, right?

“Either I order a small, iced latte or medium,” Imanaga said. “So, they probably think that ‘Oh this guy can’t make up his mind if he wants a small or a medium.’”

Familiarity aside, Imanaga is taking the league by storm — even though the  transition to Major League Baseball isn’t supposed to be this easy.

Imanaga is making it look like a stroll in the park. A historic stroll at that.

The Cubs’ lefty was dominant — again — tossing 7 shutout innings, allowing just 4 hits and a walk and striking out 7 Pirate hitters in the Cubs’ 1-0 walk-off win over the Pirates. Imanaga lowered his season ERA to 0.84 — the best mark in baseball by over half a point (Ranger Suárez, 1.37).

lowest ERA in 1st 9 starts of season, live-ball era (1920):

2021 Jacob deGrom: 0.62
1966 Juan Marichal: 0.69
2009 Zack Greinke: 0.82
2024 Shota Imanaga: 0.84 https://t.co/mqiFPN6Zyw

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) May 18, 2024

“I mean I think you have to say it because when you start like looking at the historic stuff that he’s doing, you look at the history of the game — and [senior director of media relations] John [Steinmiller] was giving me some numbers — when you start getting in this territory, you have to be a little surprised, for sure,” manager Craig Counsell said. “But we’re fortunate to watch it.

“It’s been so much fun to watch and just his aptitude out there, his pitch-making ability, his stuff, his competitiveness, they’ve all just been just a joy to watch.”

His 0.84 ERA is the lowest for a pitcher in their first 9 career starts, surpassing Los Angeles Dodger phenom Fernando Valenzuela (0.91).

“I mean, obviously [I] wasn’t around for Fernando, but if it was anything like this, it’s pretty tremendous, honestly,” Cody Bellinger, a Dodger for six seasons, said. “Just playing defense behind him, just watching him, it’s just how he’s pitching, and it’s been really impressive.”

Imanaga was his vintage self on Saturday afternoon. He never faced any real trouble — he allowed 2 singles through his first 6 innings of work. In the 7^th, he picked up two quick outs, then allowed consecutive singles to spark a Pittsburgh threat.

But Imanaga buckled in like he has done time and again this season, striking out Michael A. Taylor on a splitter well below the strike zone.

The Pirates had a hard time picking up his fastball-splitter combination and he used that to his advantage. Imanaga induced a career-high 22 swings-and-misses Saturday, keeping the Pittsburgh hitters off-balanced — like every other team he’s faced this season, contributing to a historic start to open his major-league campaign. 

“So if I’m being honest, I’m not really too interested in my own stats like that or any historic value,” Imanaga said. “But just knowing that there are so many good pitchers that came before me … is a good learning experience.”