The Los Angeles Dodgers began their 2025 campaign on Tuesday in Tokyo the same way they finished the 2024 campaign in New York: winning.
Fresh off a World Series title, a three-run fifth inning propelled the Dodgers to a season-opening 4-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs in the Tokyo Dome. Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani had two hits, including a double, and two runs scored in his home country while his fellow countryman, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, struck out four and allowed three hits and one earned run over five innings to pick up the win.
“It’s been a while that I felt actually this nervous playing a game,” Ohtani told MLB.com, through interpreter Will Ireton. “In that sense, I felt like I needed the first couple at-bats, I needed some time to adjust. I’m glad that I was able to make the adjustments in the later part of the game.”
The Dodgers are seeking to become the first team to win back-to-back championships since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998 to 2000.
Tommy Edman had an RBI single in the top of the fifth on Tuesday to tie the score at 1-1 before Ohtani scored on a ground-out later in the inning. Will Smith singled to drive home Teoscar Hernández to wrap up the scoring in the frame.
Hern\ández had an RBI single in the ninth inning to add an insurance run.
Tanner Scott struck out one in a perfect ninth inning to record a save. The Dodgers bullpen didn’t allow a hit in four innings of relief.
The Dodgers and Cubs were picked to begin the MLB season in Tokyo in a two-game series. The second game is set for Wednesday at 3 a.m. PDT and it can be viewed on Fox Sports 1. Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki, a Japanese pitcher who signed with Los Angeles during the offseason, is set to make his MLB debut against Chicago’s Justin Steele.
Both teams have Japanese stars, with the Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki going hitless in four at-bats on Tuesday and starting pitcher Shota Imanaga tossing four no-hit innings with two strikeouts and four walks.
Miguel Amaya drove in the first run of the MLB season in the second inning on Tuesday to give the Cubs an early 1-0 lead.
Dodgers stars Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman did not play on Tuesday. Betts has reportedly been ill and was sent back to Los Angeles earlier in the week. Freeman was scratched from Tuesday’s lineup with a rib injury and his status for Wednesday’s game is unknown as of this story’s publication.
The first stateside MLB games are set to be played on Thursday, March 27. The Dodgers are hosting the Detroit Tigers in a three-game series starting that day at 7:10 p.m., with games also scheduled for the following Friday and Saturday.
