Cubs Fans are Already Livid With Craig Counsell for Costly Decision

The Chicago Cubs fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers by a score of 4-1 in the first official game of the MLB regular season on Tuesday, as the two National League rivals were playing in Tokyo.

The Cubs actually held a 1-0 lead heading into the fifth inning, but the floodgates opened when manager Craig Counsell decided to pull starting pitcher Shota Imanaga after just four frames. And here’s the real kicker: Imanaga was throwing a no-hitter.

Imanaga threw a grand total of 69 pitches, which is a relatively high amount for four innings of work, but Counsell almost certainly could have allowed him to come out for the fifth.

The Chicago skipper told reporters after the game that Imanaga was on a pitch count and 70 was the magic number, so with the Japanese hurler just one pitch away from the limit, he was removed.

Strategy or not, Cubs fans are not thrilled, and Mark Powell of FanSided was sure to point that out following Chicago’s loss to the defending champions.

“…but when Counsell dared to removed Shota Imanaga with a no-hitter when he was shy of 70 pitches, Cubs fans were unhappy. Counsell defended his choice postgame as he always does, but his explanation will not appease fans,” Powell wrote.

Powell himself defended Counsell’s decision, noting that he had the team’s “best interest in mind” when deciding to pull Imanaga, who went 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA during his rookie campaign in 2024.

But don’t tell that to the Windy City faithful, who were certainly hoping to see its ace go deeper into the game, especially with the Cubs nursing a slim lead.

Chicago will play one more game against the Dodgers in Tokyo on Wednesday. The Cubbies will then have eight days of rest before facing the Arizona Diamondbacks back in their American season opener next Thursday.