Shota Imanaga doesn’t need anyone else’s help celebrating.
The Cubs pitcher went viral after repeatedly blasting himself in the face with beer during the team’s wild clubhouse celebration after clinching a spot in the postseason Thursday.
Naturally, Imanaga had an explanation for the madness.
“This is Japanese style,” Imanaga said while holding a bottle in each hand. “Japanese misogi.”
Imanaga then turned both bottles toward himself and sprayed the beer directly onto his head and face, bobbing up and down into the streams as his teammates laughed around him.
“Self-service!” Imanaga said.
The Cubs leaned into the moment themselves, posting the video on social media captioned: “Who needs bottle service when you have self-service?”
During an interview with Marquee Sports Network’s Taylor McGregor amid the clubhouse celebration, Imanaga was showered with champagne by his teammates.
His response?
“Yummy!”
Chicago officially punched its postseason ticket with a 2-1 victory over the Marlins at Wrigley Field, securing a playoff berth for the second consecutive season.
Seiya Suzuki tied the game with his 26th home run of the season in the fifth inning before Nico Hoerner drove home Ian Happ for the eventual winning run in the sixth.
Pete Crow-Armstrong also stole his 40th base of the season in the victory, giving him 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases and making him just the seventh player in MLB history to accomplish the feat.
Imanaga has played his part in getting Chicago back to the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
The 33-year-old left-hander went 11-10 with a 3.74 ERA while remaining a fixture in Chicago’s starting rotation throughout the season.
He also recorded 171 strikeouts in 173 ⅓ innings pitched in 2026.
Last year, the Cubs went 92-70 and took care of the Padres in the wild-card round before falling to the Brewers in five games in the NLDS.
Imanaga, who was an All-Star two seasons ago, turned 33 earlier this month and has a career 3.44 ERA and a 35-21 record.
