{
  "id": 6861864,
  "title": "Baseball: Imanaga earns 10th win as Okamoto belts 31st homer",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/baseball-imanaga-earns-10th-win-as-okamoto-belts-31st-homer",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-12T04:30:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Mainichi",
    "slug": "the-mainichi",
    "url": "https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260912/p2g/00m/0sp/018000c"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Shota Imanaga achieved his 10th win as the Chicago Cubs dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 12-2 victory on Friday at Wrigley Field. Imanaga, who went 15-3 in his debut season in 2024 and 9-8 in the previous year, held the Pirates to two runs on five hits and two walks over six innings. He delivered a 100-pitch effort, resulting in his second straight quality start. The Cubs snapped a four-game losing streak with the win. Imanaga became the first pitcher since 2024 to reach the minimum 162 innings pitched required for individual category leadership in earned run average. He attributed his success to his interpreter, pitching coach, and teammates. Meanwhile, Kazuma Okamoto hit his 31st home run of the season for the Toronto Blue Jays in the team's 7-4 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Okamoto tied former New York Yankees player Hideki Matsui's personal home run record in a season. The rookie blasted a solo shot to right center during the fourth inning, scoring the Blue Jays' first run of the game and trailing 6-1. Okamoto also had a double in the sixth inning as part of a 2-for-4 performance.",
  "summary": "CHICAGO (Kyodo) -- Shota Imanaga reached double figures in wins as the Chicago Cubs clobbered the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-2 on Friday, while Kazuma Okam",
  "key_points": [
    "Imanaga earns 10th win, 12-2 victory over Pirates",
    "Okamoto hits 31st homer, ties Matsui's seasonal record",
    "Cubs end four-game losing streak with win"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Imanaga's milestone win and Okamoto's record-tying home run highlight strong individual performances, but only Imanaga's team, the Cubs, secured a decisive victory, snapping a losing streak.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}