Dodgers Defeat Cubs in Tokyo as Ohtani, Yamamoto Shine in 2025 MLB Opener

The start of the 2025 MLB season officially kicked off Tuesday morning at 6 a.m ET/3 a.m PT.

For those early risers desperately seeking some baseball, they watched as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Chicago Cubs by a score of 4-1 in front of more than 50,000 people at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.

Two of the Dodgers’ biggest stars — Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto — both performed very well in their home country. The event itself had been a true spectacle in the week leading up to the first of two games. Ohtani’s face, name, and likeness has been plastered virtually all over Tokyo. The atmosphere in the stadium was electric, and the dynamic duo certainly didn’t disappoint.

Ohtani led off for LA and collected two hits in five at-bats. He also scored two runs for good measure. Yamamoto pitched five strong innings allowing only three hits and one run. He struck out four, and got a significant amount of swings and misses from the Cubs. His splitter was downright nasty, and his fastball was routinely sitting in the 96-98 MPH range. Yamamoto looked far more like the pitcher we saw in last year’s World Series compared to his first start in Seoul where he was shelled in last year’s trip versus the San Diego Padres.

LA’s bullpen was also fantastic. The combination of Anthony Banda, Ben Casparius, Blake Treinen, and Tanner Scott threw four shutout innings allowing zero hits and zero walks. The quartet collectively struck out five batters before Scott closed the door for the save.

The Dodgers earned the victory without two of its best players. As had been reported earlier, Mookie Betts will miss both games due to a stomach virus which has caused him to lose 15 pounds. Freddie Freeman was a late scratch based on a rib injury he suffered right before game time when taking practice swings. Freeman’s status for Wednesday’s game is unknown at this time.

Game 2 between Chicago and LA will feature lefty Justin Steele going up against Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki. All eyes will be on the Dodgers’ starlet as he takes the mound in front of family and friends for his first career MLB start.