Imai finishes impressive late May stretch with more comfort in The Show

HOUSTON -- Over Tatsuya Imai’s first four starts with the Astros, he struggled, allowing 13 runs in 12 2/3 innings, but the Japanese right-hander has started to put it together over his last three starts. Imai had arguably his best outing this season on Sunday, tossing six solid innings in a 2-0 loss to the Brewers at Daikin Park.

Imai surrendered two runs on three hits with three walks with five strikeouts.

“For today’s outing, I was able to find a position where I am really comfortable,” Imai said through an interpreter. “Even with the high intent, I was confident in being able to put it in the zone. I was very happy about that.”

Imai surrendered his first hit with one out in the third, a single to David Hamilton, snapping a streak of 8 1/3 hitless innings. Imai had not given up a hit since May 18 at the Twins. In his last outing on May 25, he started Houston’s combined no-hitter against the Rangers.

Imai said he’s been able to adjust and get back to how he pitched when he played in Japan for the Seibu Lions.

“For me, the most important thing was to be able to do what I did in Japan,” Imai said. “The first start of the season, I wasn’t able to adjust and wasn’t able to perform well, but the last two outings, I was able to do what I did in Japan.”

The right-hander continued to rely heavily on a four-seam and slider mix. He threw 57 four-seam fastballs and 47 sliders out of a season-high 110 pitches.

“It looked good,” Houston manager Joe Espada said. “We checked in with him between innings, and the stuff was still good. In between innings, we’re looking at the information on the iPad and making sure that the shape of his pitches were still good. We know that he’s thrown that many pitches before in his career, but the fact that he did it against a really good offensive team and came out on a positive note, that is very encouraging.”

He got five whiffs off the four-seamer and three whiffs on the slider. The Brewers had an average exit velocity of 88.9 mph against Imai. His fastball topped out at 97.6 mph, and his velocity improved as he got deeper in the game, consistently throwing 96-97 mph in the sixth inning.

“He definitely emptied the tank at the end,” Espada said. “He came in and was like, ‘I got more in there. I can go back out there for another inning.’ … It was really good how he’s got more confidence. There’s a different presence about him when he knows, ‘OK, things are starting to go my way.’ That’s very important for him just where he started and where he’s at now.”

Over his last three starts, Imai has allowed five runs over 16 2/3 innings for a 2.70 ERA to go with 12 strikeouts and a .148 opponent batting average.

“After the first [time through the lineup], I was feeling more confident with my body, how I was able to throw in the zone, so I was able to ramp up,” he said. “Then, also, in my Seibu Lions career, I was able to pitch more than 100. The coaches knew I had a tank after even 100 pitches. I feel more confident after today’s outing. I was able to attack the zone even with a high pitch count.”

The Astros started May at 12-20 and dropped to a season-worst 20-31 after a loss in Minnesota on May 20. Despite the loss on Sunday, Houston finished May winning seven of its last 10 games and was 15-14 overall in the month.

“Talking about outcomes: Imai and us as a team went 12-20 [between] March and April, and 15-14 in the month of May,” Espada said. “I think as a team we feel like we have made some huge adjustments. That’s important. As a team, we are trying to play better on both sides of the ball. I think Imai is one of those guys, who back-to-back, really quality starts. The Brewers lineup puts a lot of balls in play, a lot of foul balls to drive the pitch count up. The fact that he continued to pound the zone and make quality pitches, it’s a good sign.”