Sho' good: Imanaga sets career high with 11 K's

Imanaga dazzles on the mound

In a dominant performance, Roki Imanaga tossed a career-high 11 strikeouts in six innings of one-run ball to lead the Lexington Legends to a 4-2 victory over the Greenville Drive on Tuesday night at Whitaker Bank Ballpark.

The 22-year-old right-hander allowed just four hits and two walks while throwing 86 pitches in his longest outing of the season. Imanaga's previous career high in strikeouts was nine, which he accomplished twice last year with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers.

"I felt really good tonight," Imanaga said through interpreter Shinya Aotaki. "My fastball was working well, and I was able to locate my off-speed pitches for strikes."

Legends offense provides support

The Legends offense provided Imanaga with some early support, scoring twice in the first inning on a RBI double by Diego Hernandez and a RBI single by Logan Porter.

Lexington added another run in the third inning on a RBI single by Emmanuel Rivera, and they extended their lead to 4-0 in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly by Nick Loftin.

The Drive finally got on the board in the sixth inning on a RBI single by Ceddanne Rafaela, and they cut the deficit to 4-2 in the eighth inning on a RBI groundout by Alex Binelas.

However, the Legends bullpen was able to hold on for the win, with Nick Neville getting the final three outs for his fourth save of the season.

"It was a great team win tonight," Legends manager Omar Ramirez said. "Roki pitched a great game, and our offense gave him some early support. Our bullpen did a great job of finishing it out."

The Legends improved to 18-17 with the win, while the Drive fell to 17-18. Lexington will face Greenville again on Wednesday night at Whitaker Bank Ballpark.