Cubs: Shota Imanaga wasn’t disappointed when he was removed after seven hitless innings and 95 pitches. “He actually didn’t know he had a no-hitter going at all, which is funny,” Cubs manager Counsell said. Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge each followed with a perfect inning to finish a 12-0 victory over the Pirates on Wednesday night in Chicago, the Cubs’ first no-hitter at Wrigley Field since 1972. “That’s 100% about taking care of Shota and making sure we’re doing the right thing for him,” Counsell said. “It’s not fun to do, but when you’re prioritizing the player’s health and you don’t know what’s going to happen moving forward, we want him to stay healthy.” Imanaga (12-3) struck out seven and walked two, throwing 66 pitches for strikes. A 31-year-old left-hander in his first season with the Cubs after pitching in Japan for eight seasons, Imanaga hasn’t gotten an out in the eighth inning this season and has thrown a high of 103 pitches. He needed 25 pitches to get through the second inning. He complimented catcher Miguel Amaya, who posed for photos with the three pitchers after the final out. “Miggy studies the hitters, and there were a few occasions today where there was a specific pitch I wanted to throw, Miggy had a different sign, and I just trusted him and it worked out,” Imanaga said through an interpreter. “I can’t thank him enough.” Imanaga agreed in January to a four-year, $53 million contract. The Cubs paid a $9,825,000 posting fee to the Yokohama BayStars of Japan’s Central League. “The way he works, the presence, the confidence that he shows up there, every pitch is with intention,” Amaya said. “He’s a grinder.” The Cubs’ previous no-hitter was by Zach Davies, Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin and Craig Kimbrel at Dodger Stadium on June 24, 2021. The Cubs hadn’t pitched a no-hitter at Wrigley Field since Milt Pappas against the Padres on Sept. 2, 1972 — Pappas was one pitch from a perfect game when Bruce Froemming called ball four on a full-count pitch to Larry Stahl. Garry Jestadt then popped out. The Cubs ended a streak of 4,147 regular and postseason games at Wrigley Field without a no-hitter, the second-longest for a team in a single ballpark behind the Pirates, according to Opta. The Pirates never had a no-hitter in 4,773 games at Forbes Field from 1909-70. This was the fourth no-hitter this season.

Extra innings: The Giants and 3B Matt Chapman agreed to a six-year, $151 million contract through the 2030 season. The 31-year-old former All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner entered Thursday’s game against the Diamondbacks with a .247 batting average and a team-high 22 HRs and 56 extra-base hits. ... Ty France broke open a scoreless game with a HR in the seventh to give the Reds a 1-0 win and series sweep of the AL West-leading Astros. Rhett Lowder made his second career start, throwing 6 1/3 scoreless innings and striking out three. The Astros’ Hunter Brown pitched six shutout innings, allowing four hits and and a walk, striking out six.