Tatsuya Imai on Wed, Sep 2, 2026

Imai fans five but three walks undercut another short outing

Tatsuya Imai lasted just 3.0 innings against the White Sox today, allowing 2 hits and 2 earned runs while striking out 5 and walking 3. The strikeout total looks fine on its own, but issuing three walks in only three innings pushed his K/BB ratio down to 1.67 for the outing, and that command slippage lines up directly with the runs he allowed.

His season line remains rough at a 5.35 ERA and 1.47 WHIP with a 6-4 record, and the last ten outings show exactly why: this is a pitcher of extremes rather than steady mediocrity. On June 26 against Detroit he worked six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts, and on July 22 against Miami he went six innings with just 1 earned run and 8 strikeouts. But on July 2 against Minnesota he imploded, giving up 5 earned runs in just 1.1 innings. That volatility, not a consistently poor process, is what's inflating the ERA. The platoon split adds another layer: against right-handed hitters he's been excellent, holding them to a .202 average and .645 OPS, but left-handed hitters have touched him for a .228 average, a .734 OPS, and 7 home runs compared to just 2 against righties. Today's outing fits that pattern — the walks piled up and the results followed.

Unico's take: the swing-and-miss stuff is clearly still there, so tightening up the walk rate and finding an answer for left-handed hitters should be enough to bring that ERA down from here.