Imai (4-3) earned the win against the Guardians on Friday, allowing three runs on six hits and no walks with 11 strikeouts over six innings.
Analysis:
Imai allowed three runs in the third inning but was otherwise as good as he's been in an Astros uniform, registering a season-high 11 punchouts while not issuing a walk for just the second time in 10 contests. He leaned heavily on his slider, generating a whopping 17 of his 20 swinging strikes on the pitch while throwing it 57 percent of the time. The 28-year-old still owns an ugly 6.15 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 48:24 K:BB across 41 innings this season and will try to build on this performance in a road matchup against the Tigers next week.
