Cubs Pitchers Throw Combined No Hitter; 1st No Hitter at Wrigley Field Since 1972

Chicago Cubs left hander Shota Imanaga has had a terrific rookie season. The 31 year old is a rookie in the major leagues, but he spent eight seasons playing in his native Japan before signing with the Cubs. He started out the year 5-0 with an 0.84 ERA in his first nine starts. He came back down to earth a little bit after that, but is still putting up great numbers. On September 4th, he made his 26th start of the season as the Cubs faced the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Imanaga pitched the first seven innings, striking out seven and walking two. Another runner reached on an error, but Imanaga allowed no hits in his seven innings. Relievers Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge each pitched perfect 1-2-3 innings, and the Cubs pitching staff had themselves a combined no hitter. Chicago won 12-0. Imanaga improved to 12-3 with a 2.99 ERA for the season.

It was the 18th no hitter in the long history of the franchise, with the first one thrown way back in 1880. There have been 13 since 1900, and this is the second combined no hitter; the first was a four pitcher effort on June 24th, 2021 against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. On September 13th, 2020, Alec Mills, who had a lifetime record of 12-14 with an ERA of 5.00, threw a no hitter against the Brewers in Milwaukee in front of no fans due to Covid-19 restrictions. Jake Arrieta pitched a pair of no hitters for the Cubs, beating the Dodgers in Los Angeles on August 30th, 2015, and beating the Reds in Cincinnati on April 21, 2016. Carlos Zambrano no hit the Houston Astros on September 14, 2008, in Milwaukee. The game was supposed to be played in Houston, but was moved due to Hurricane Ike. It has been the only no hitter at a neutral location, although the huge crowd of Cubs fans who drove 90 miles or so up I-94 made it seem like a Cubs home game.

But you have to go back to September 2nd, 1972 for the last Cubs no hitter at Wrigley Field before this one. Milt Pappas came within one strike of a perfect game against the San Diego Padres that day. Pinch hitter Larry Stahl worked the count to 3-2, and home plate umpire Bruce Froemming called the next pitch ball four, ending the perfect game. The next batter popped out and the game was over; it was a no hitter, but the perfecto was gone. Pappas would insist for the rest of his life that the 3-2 pitch to Stahl was a strike, while Froemming would insist it was a ball. TV coverage of baseball at the time didn’t have cameras everywhere, so while the high angle view shows it to be close to the strike zone, it’s not conclusive. But here’s a video of it, so you be the judge.