TOKYO -- In front of a packed Tokyo Dome crowd, the 2025 MLB season got underway with Game 1 of the Tokyo Series. Though the game was close, the Dodgers' trio of Japanese stars (though only two played: Roki Sasaki will make his MLB debut in Wednesday's contest) bested the Cubs' two in a 4-1 victory.
Shohei Ohtani knocked two hits for Los Angeles, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga, the two starting pitchers, were both sharp on the mound.
If you didn't get up in time to catch the ballgame, here are the top seven moments you need to know:
1. It's Shohei Ohtani's world and we're just living in it
No, we were not gifted with another massive home run like the one Ohtani hit in Saturday's exhibition contest, and he didn't lead off the game with a base hit, but it was the Dodgers' superstar who was still in the center of all of the action on Tuesday. After Andy Pages drew a one-out walk in the fifth inning, Ohtani followed with a single for his first hit of the year.
That helped the Dodgers put up a three-spot in the inning, as Tommy Edman drove in Pages with an opposite-field RBI single for the Dodgers' first run, Ohtani scored on a throwing error by Cubs second baseman Jon Berti and Will Smith knocked an RBI single to bring home Teoscar Hernández and give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead.
Ohtani then picked up his second hit of the game -- and his first extra-base hit of the season -- in the top of the ninth inning.
He went down and got a low slider from Ryan Brasier and roped a 108 mph double down the right-field line. He came around to score on Hernández's RBI single to give the Dodgers an insurance run.
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2. First Opening Day matchup of Japanese starting pitchers
There was one remarkable first that played out in front of the Tokyo Dome crowd: With Yamamoto and Imanaga on the mound, it was the first time that two Japanese pitchers faced each other on Opening Day.
With the calendar still in mid-March, neither pitcher went deep, but both showed why they earned the Opening Day nod.
Yamamoto showed off his electric stuff as he pitched five innings for the Dodgers, allowed just one run and struck out four. Imanaga struggled with his command, but kept the dangerous Dodgers bat off the board. He pitched four shutout innings, walking four and striking out two.
3. Swanson picks up the first hit and run of the 2025 season
It may just be a nifty piece of trivia, but there's always something magical about the first hit of the big league season. Dansby Swanson lined a curveball from Yamamoto into center field for a single in the second inning.
Two batters later, Miguel Amaya got the scoring started in Tokyo with an RBI double off Yamamoto into the right-center-field gap, plating Swanson.
4. Decoy!
The only thing more popular than Ohtani? It might be his beloved pup, Decoy. Ohtani paid homage to his dog by donning custom Ohtani 1's emblazoned with Decoy, as has become his custom.
Ohtani also entered the stadium wearing the Japan-exclusive Shohei x New Balance 990V6.
5. Pikachus waddle across the field!
There were a lot of great moments in Tuesday's pregame festivities -- from a special video highlighting the remarkable history and partnership between American and Japanese baseball and Yoshiki's national anthem -- but nothing could top seeing a bunch of jersey-wearing pikachus slowly waddling across the field.
If you ever have a bad day, just watch this video:
An even funnier moment may have come after the game once the stands had cleared out: There were the Pikachus again, slowly waddling their way home.
6. Baseball legends arrive
There were more stars than just who filled the box score on Tuesday. A number of legends and baseball stars from around the world were on hand.
All-time home run king Sadaharu Oh was in attendance, and he met with manager Dave Roberts before the game.
"Dream come true," Roberts said. "I consider Oh-san a friend, and so to see him here in person, I think the fans all were excited to see him. There’s a lot of Major League players, former players, up on the field that got to take a picture with him, and he really appreciated that. I just think, again, it’s just bringing Japanese baseball with Major League Baseball. It was a really special moment.”
MLB ambassadors Ken Griffey Jr. and CC Sabathia posed for pictures with Andruw Jones and Koji Uehara.
And even stars from outside the baseball world like Bill Murray, Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss made sure to be at the Big Egg (as the Tokyo Dome is affectionately called) on Tuesday.
7. Dodgers win on Opening Day in Japan
The Dodgers started their World Series title defense with a 4-1 victory over the Cubs.
Tanner Scott capped off the win with his first strikeout as a Dodger, whiffing Matt Shaw on a 98 mph fastball to end the game.