Tatsuya Imai can’t escape first against Angels

Imai made his first appearance since throwing three perfect innings in relief against the Blue Jays back on August 3, scattering three hits and a pair of walks over three frames. He took over after openers Bryan King and Enyel De Los Santos worked the first inning. The 28-year-old righty has gone through one of the more turbulent stateside debuts in recent memory, boasting a lackluster 5.29 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 80/42 K/BB ratio across 64 2/3 innings of work. His inability to work deep into games tamps down his realistic fantasy appeal and renders him irrelevant in shallow mixed leagues. He’ll factor into Houston’s relief mix for the final six weeks of the season.

Imai tried to win his rotation spot back with a stellar showing tonight; 26 of his 34 pitches were strikes, and he allowed just one hard-hit ball. It was Imai’s first appearance since he walked four in two-thirds on an inning in a start last Monday against the Angels.

The 28-year-old hurler has shown flashes of brilliance during his first season stateside, but they have been few and far between. He didn’t make it out of the first inning in his last start, walking four of the first seven hitters that he faced against the Angels. Any lingering mixed league value that he may have had in deeper formats vanishes with the move to the bullpen.

There really aren’t any middle-of-the-road outings with Imai on the mound. In the seven starts in which he’s completed five innings, he’s gone 6-1 with a 1.77 ERA. In his other seven starts, he’s 0-3 with a 14.54 ERA. He’ll face the Angels next time out. Not that it means much of anything, but he gave up four runs and walked four in 2 2/3 innings against them in his first MLB start back in March.

Imai appeared to be dealing with a finger issue that led to a visit from a trainer at one point. It’s the third time in five starts that Imai has failed to make it out of the fourth. In the other two outings during the span, he allowed three runs with a 21/1 K/BB over 12 innings. The talent is there, but the consistency probably won’t be until maybe next year. He’ll be available to start Sunday against the Rangers, but it’s unclear if he’ll get the nod.

Just when you thought you were in, he pushes you back out. Imai’s command issues came roaring back here with an awful 37% zone rate that turned into five walks. Two of those walks precluded a three-run home run from Kody Clemens and after a walk that immediately followed, he was yanked after recording just four outs. His approach is always tenuous because he only has two pitches. To make it even less reliable, his fastball is strictly a zone pitch and his slider is mostly a chase pitch. His slider was erratic here, so his misses wound up noncompetitive and were not chased. So, he wound up not having a leg to stand on. Even after a great stretch before his start, Imai has an ugly 6.14 ERA. He’s scheduled to face the Nationals on the road in his next start.

The 28-year-old right-hander piled up 10 strikeouts on the evening while scattering just two singles and one walk. The Tigers never had a player reach second base against him. Imai got 16 swings and misses on 96 pitches on the night — 14 on his slider — while posting a strong CSW of 34 percent. It’s the second straight start in which Imai has pitched well and recorded double digit strikeouts. He’ll look to further improve upon his 5.36 ERA and 1.32 WHIP when he does battle against the Twins on Wednesday.

This was absolutely and unquestionably Imai’s best start as a big leaguer. His famous backwards slider was diabolical, forcing 17 swings-and-misses while working firmly as his primary pitch. He commanded it excellently both low and below the zone as well as fading away from the Guardians’ left-handed hitters. Most impressively, Imai had let up three runs before the third inning was over and it looked like this was going to turn into yet another start that went off the rails. However, he composed himself and dominated from that point on retiring the final 11 batters he faced. So far, his two-pitch approach hasn’t fared particularly well and we must remember that this Guardians’ lineup sans José Ramírez and a handful of other starts is one of the weakest in the league. Still, that slider looks like it can truly carry him when it’s on like it was tonight. He’s scheduled to face the Blue Jays in Toronto next time out.

For the second straight start the Astros gifted Imai a huge lead to pitch with and for the second straight start he did not make things easy for himself. After his offense spotted him nine – yes, nine – runs in the top of the first inning, he could not finish the bottom of the frame. His fastball was erratic and his slider wasn’t good enough to get him out of trouble. That sadly has been the story of his first season stateside as Imai has an ugly 6.43 ERA through 35 innings so far. He’ll have another chance to figure it out next week against the Tigers at home.

This is more like how it was supposed to look for Imai. His famous backwards slider was on point here, forcing 11 of his 16 total swings-and-misses and got some really ugly hacks diving low and in against the Athletics’ right-handed hitters. We would have loved to see Imai be a bit more aggressive with his fastball in the zone, especially after pitching with a huge lead from the second inning onward, but just getting a big strikeout total and win is a huge step in the right direction for Imai. He’s scheduled to face the Royals on the road next time out.