TOKYO (AP) — The Major League Baseball season kicks off Tuesday night at the Tokyo Dome when Shohei Ohtani and the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers face the Chicago Cubs.
It's the first of a two-game series and features five Japanese players. Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and rookie Roki Sasaki pitch for the Dodgers while the Cubs have outfielder Seiya Suzuki and left-handed pitcher Shota Imanaga.
The two MLB teams have been in Tokyo for several days, playing exhibition games against two Japanese teams — the Hanshin Tigers and Yomiuri Giants.
All four exhibition games had a capacity crowd of roughly 42,000. A similar atmosphere is expected for the two MLB games.
“Everybody's very aware of the series, that's evident for sure, more than I feel like it would be America," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “More people are talking about it, absolutely. That's a great feeling. The players love big events, that's why we do this, that's why we love to do it.”
Here are five things to know heading into the MLB opener:
All-Japanese pitching matchup
The first game will feature the first all-Japanese pitching matchup on opening day in MLB history. Yamamoto will take the mound for the Dodgers against Imanaga of the Cubs.
Yamamoto is entering his second season with Los Angeles. He was 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA last season and was an important part of the team's World Series championship, with a brilliant performance in a Game 2 win over the Yankees.
Imanaga was an All-Star last year in his first season with the Cubs. The lefty finished with a 15-3 record and a 2.91 ERA in 2024.
The Dodgers will start Sasaki in the second game on Wednesday night.
Young Cubs
Third baseman Matt Shaw is expected to make his big league debut for the Cubs on Tuesday. Shaw is one of the team's top prospects and did enough this spring to earn the starting nod.
Shaw was drafted with the No. 13 overall pick in 2020 after playing college baseball at Maryland. He hit .284 with 21 homers and 71 RBIs last season, splitting time between Double-A and Triple-A.
Other young Cubs include third-year outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who hopes to take a big step forward after an encouraging second half of 2024. Rookie second baseman Gage Workman could also make his MLB debut in Tokyo.
Ailing Mookie
Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts will not play in either game against the Chicago Cubs because of an illness that’s lingered for the past week.
Manager Dave Roberts said Monday that Betts is starting to feel better but has lost nearly 15 pounds and is still trying to get rehydrated and gain strength. Roberts added that the eight-time All-Star might fly back to the United States before the team in an effort to rest and prepare for the domestic opener on March 27.
Miguel Rojas will start at shortstop in Betts' place.
Early in the U.S.
Set your alarm if you're planning to view the two Tokyo games in the United States. Both games being at 7:10 p.m. in Tokyo, which means it'll be a 6:10 a.m. wake up call in the Eastern time zone.
Many Cubs and Dodgers fans will really need some coffee. Start time in Chicago is 5:10 a.m. while it's 3:10 a.m. in Los Angeles. The game will air nationally on Fox.
Tokyo history
This marks the 25th anniversary of the first MLB regular season games played in Japan. The New York Mets and Cubs played a two-game set at the Tokyo Dome in 2000.
Since that series, MLB returned in 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2019. The 2019 series featured the Oakland A's and Seattle Mariners, who celebrated the final two games of Ichiro Suzuki's career in his home country. Suzuki will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer.
It's the 10th time that MLB has played regular season games in a spot outside the 50 states. The locations include Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Australia and last year's series in South Korea.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
David Brandt, The Associated Press
