TOKYO ¨C From the large press conferences to the wild pregame ceremonies and the celebrities on hand, this is what the Cubs want to experience seven months from now. The Tokyo Series may have marked only the first two games of the 2025 season, but the magnitude had an October-esque feel.
The Cubs have plenty of postseason-tested players in their clubhouse ¨C including the blockbuster offseason addition of Kyle Tucker ¨C but there are also many in the room who have never tasted that stage. This global event against the reigning World Series-champion Dodgers offered an early glimpse into what Chicago hopes lies ahead.
Tokyo Series 2025: Dodgers vs. Cubs
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¡°It feels like a playoff environment, which is awesome,¡± Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said this week. ¡°Those are the butterflies you want, and that¡¯s the energy that you want. There¡¯s no feeling like the postseason, where everyone¡¯s hanging on every pitch.¡±
The Cubs were dealt a 6-3 loss on Wednesday night, sending the ballclub back to the United States with no wins out of this otherwise memorable journey overseas for the team. Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki, Chicago¡¯s two Japanese stars, had a chance to step onto native turf as big leaguers and into the spotlight in this historic opening series.
The duo joined the Dodgers¡¯ trio of stars ¨C Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki ¨C as the main attractions at the Tokyo Dome. Imanaga tossed four no-hit innings on Opening Day, opposite a strong outing from Yamamoto. Sasaki flashed his potential in a three-inning MLB debut on Wednesday night, when Ohtani again stole the show.
Ohtani launched one of three home runs for the Dodgers ¨C sending a towering drive to right-center field in the fifth inning that made contact with a fan in the outfield seats. It was deemed a home run and the call stood after a replay review, as the crowd roared in celebration of what many on hand hoped to witness.
It was not what the Cubs hoped to have happen, but there was no denying the rising decibel level as the Tokyo Series started winding to a close.
¡°It was a great atmosphere,¡± Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. ¡°I thought today there was great energy in the crowd. Maybe [in the opener], it felt a little quiet at times. Today, it got a little more energetic as the day went on. If we had a couple more games here, it¡¯d get pretty crazy.¡±
When the players look back on this week spent in Tokyo, they will remember that overwhelming environment and the moments that helped begin to form the kind of bond teams planning on deep playoff runs require. Los Angeles also gave them a first-hand look out of the chute at the level of competition standing in the way.
That is why the Cubs¡¯ front office worked with a level of urgency this offseason.
The North Siders have not made the postseason in a full MLB season since 2018 and the team has not won a playoff game since ¡®17. Don¡¯t look now, but next year will mark a decade since the Cubs won the World Series. By landing Tucker and addressing multiple areas of the roster, the message was clear that Chicago intends to end this playoff drought.
Swanson won a World Series with Atlanta in 2021, and his goal when he signed a seven-year contract with the Cubs ahead of the ¡®23 season was to help lead another winner in Chicago. Coming off consecutive 83-win seasons, Swanson has expressed optimism that this current group can take that next step to October.
In Tokyo, the results provided instant feedback and the environment offered a preview of what to expect in a postseason setting.
¡°There was a lot of heightened awareness and the media following,¡± Swanson said. ¡°And the fans and just what these games meant to a lot of us, it¡¯s a pretty special thing. So obviously it can be pretty similar to the playoffs in terms of the intensity.
¡°But it¡¯s a good learning experience. Obviously, we¡¯ve got to go back home, get a few things adjusted and corrected and come back out ready to go next week.¡±
Counsell summed things up for the Cubs succinctly.
¡°Look, we had a great experience,¡± he said. ¡°The games didn¡¯t go the way we wanted to, but I think we had an experience of a lifetime.¡±