Everything to know about Tokyo Series as Dodgers, Cubs open 2025 MLB season

Fresh off their World Series title, Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers are set to open the MLB regular season against the Chicago Cubs in the 2025 Tokyo Series.

Mar 17, 2025 - 16:17

Everything to know about Tokyo Series as Dodgers, Cubs open 2025 MLB season

Shohei Ohtani and the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are set to begin their title defence on the international stage.

In the latest installment of the MLB World Tour, the Dodgers and Chicago Cubs will open the 2025 MLB regular season with a pair of games in Tokyo.

The two-game series marks the second straight year that the Dodgers have ushered in a new campaign abroad. Last March, Los Angeles and the San Diego Padres kicked things off in Seoul, South Korea.

This time around, Los Angeles and Chicago will bring the MLB World Tour to the Tokyo Dome — a fitting venue to showcase some of the league’s top Japanese talent in their home country.

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First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 a.m. ET / 3:10 a.m. PT on both Tuesday and Wednesday as the two storied franchises get a head start on the 162-grind in front of what is sure to be a raucous crowd.

As both the Dodgers and Cubs gear up to take the field, here’s everything you need to know ahead of the matchups between National League foes.

How to watch the 2025 Tokyo Series
You can catch both meetings between Los Angeles and Chicago on Sportsnet or stream them on Sportsnet+. Coverage begins at 6 a.m. ET / 3 a.m. PT on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Probable pitchers
Tuesday
Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2024: 7-2, 3.00 ERA, 2.61 FIP) vs. Cubs LHP Shota Imanaga (2024: 15-3, 2.91 ERA, 3.72 FIP)
Wednesday
Dodgers RHP Roki Sasaki (2023 in NPB: 10-5, 2.35 ERA, 1.69 FIP) vs. Cubs LHP Justin Steele (2023: 5-5, 3.07 ERA, 3.23 FIP)

Japanese players participating
There may not be two better teams to participate in the Tokyo Series. Japanese stars will play integral roles for both the Dodgers and Cubs in 2025.

Los Angeles is, of course, led by Ohtani. The three-time MVP used his first season in Dodger blue to attack the record books, even as he was unable to pitch due to off-season right elbow surgery.

Ohtani won’t pitch in Tokyo, as he continues to ramp up on the mound, but baseball’s first ever 50-50 man will be atop L.A.’s order once again to begin the season.

He is joined by fellow Japanese right-handers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki, who will serve as the Dodger starters against the Cubs.

Yamamoto was limited by injuries in his debut MLB season but he looked like a future ace in the 90 innings he did throw. The 26-year-old pitched to a 3.00 ERA and 28.5 per cent strikeout rate thanks to a large arsenal and excellent command.

Sasaki, meanwhile, will certainly be one of the more scrutinized players in MLB this season after a well-documented free-agent chase saw him land with the Dodgers as an international amateur free agent.

The 23-year-old features a fastball that touches triple digits and a splitter that could emerge as one of the best offerings in baseball. He owned a career 2.02 ERA and 524 strikeouts in four seasons with Nippon Professional Baseball’s Chiba Lotte Marines.

In the other dugout, Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki will be the two Japanese players representing the Cubs in Tokyo.

If it weren’t for one of the best rookie classes in recent memory in 2024, we might be talking about Imanaga as the reigning NL Rookie of the Year. The five-foot-10 southpaw delivered a 2.91 ERA and 174 strikeouts over his 173.1 innings in his first season with Chicago, as he earned an All-Star nod and Cy Young votes.

Suzuki has called the Windy City home for the past three seasons after inking a five-year, $85 million deal in 2022. He’s coming off a career-best year, in which he hit 21 homers, stole 16 bases and posted a .848 OPS. He will begin the year as the Cubs’ designated hitter.

Other Dodgers storylines to follow

Los Angeles will be without star Mookie Betts for the Tokyo Series as the former MVP battles an illness, manager Dave Roberts announced Sunday.

The 32-year-old has been preparing to handle the full-time shortstop duties for L.A. this spring, and without him, the mantle in Tokyo will fall to veteran Miguel Rojas.

Fresh off the eighth World Series title in franchise history, the Dodgers are returning many of the pieces that helped them dispatch the New York Yankees in the Fall Classic. But the club brought in a crop of players to reload in an attempt to repeat. While Blake Snell might not take the mound against the Cubs, new Dodgers Michael Conforto, Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates will likely get to debut with their new team in Tokyo.

Other Cubs storylines to follow

Chicago has missed out on the post-season in each of the last four years. So, after some roster reconstruction in the off-season, the Cubs hope to return to October baseball with a strong showing in the NL Central.

At the centre of its busy off-season was the acquisition of Kyle Tucker. The Cubs landed the three-time All-Star — and pending free agent — from the Houston Astros for top prospect Cam Smith, standout infielder Isaac Paredes and right-handed starter Hayden Wesneski.

Along with Tucker, fans will get their first look at how winter additions Justin Turner, Ryan Pressly and Ryan Brazier fit into Chicago’s puzzle out of the gate. The Tokyo Series will also be the first chance for top prospect Matt Shaw to show he deserves to break camp as the club’s everyday third baseman.

When was MLB last hosted at the Tokyo Dome?

MLB hosted season-opening series at the Dome in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2019.

The last occasion was a two-game set between the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners. The series will be remembered for a hero’s sendoff for newly minted Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki in his final big-league game.

What is the MLB World Tour?

The World Tour is an initiative from MLB to give fans across the world opportunities to experience baseball and cheer on the sport’s biggest stars.

In 2024, MLB travelled to Seoul, Mexico City, London and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic for two spring training and six regular season contests.

Along with the Dodgers and Cubs playing in the Tokyo Series as part of the 2025 World Tour this week, the Boston Red Sox will take on the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League in a pair of exhibition games from Monterrey Nuevo León, Mexico, on March 24 and 25.

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Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker talk all things Blue Jays and MLB. Airing live on Sportsnet 590 The FAN, Sportsnet 360 and available on demand wherever you get your podcasts.
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