Japanese Superstars Make History in Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs' Starting Lineups

There are four Japanese-born players in the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs' starting lineups on Tuesday night: Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Seiya Suzuki and Shota Imanaga.

Sep 9, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) runs after hitting a single against the Chicago Cubs during the seventh inning at Dodger Stadium. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs opened up a run-of-the-mill, three-game regular season series on Monday.

The lineup cards that managers Dave Roberts and Craig Counsell submitted for Tuesday night's showdown, however, made history.

On the Dodgers' side of things, designated hitter Shohei Ohtani was slotted into the leadoff spot and rookie right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto was activated off the injured list to serve as starting pitcher. The Cubs, meanwhile, are trotting out rookie left-hander Shota Imanaga as their starting pitcher and designated hitter Seiya Suzuki as their No. 3 hitter.

According to MLB, it marks just the second game in league history in which four Japanese-born players were part of the starting lineups.

The only other occurrence came on May 4, 2007, when the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners started Hideki Matsui, Kei Igawa, Ichiro Suzuki and Kenji Johjima. The Mariners won that game 15-11, with Suzuki and Johjima combining for four runs and five hits.

The only other MLB game to feature four Japanese-born starters was Mariners vs Yankees on 5/4/07 (Ichiro Suzuki, Kenji Johjima, Hideki Matsui, Kei Igawa).

— MLB (@MLB) September 11, 2024

Ohtani is batting .292 with 46 home runs, 101 RBI, 47 stolen bases, a .993 OPS and a 7.3 WAR so far in 2024, having passed Matsui for most homers in an MLB career by a Japanese-born player back in April. The two-time AL MVP is competing to win NL MVP this fall, less than a year after inking a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers.

Los Angeles also went out and spent big on Yamamoto this past offseason, bringing him in on a 12-year, $325 million deal. Before hitting the 60-day IL with a rotator cuff strain, Yamamoto was 6-2 with a 2.92 ERA, 1.068 WHIP, 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings and a 1.6 WAR.

Imanaga was one of the other top free agent pitchers entering 2024, and the Cubs landed him on a four-year, $53 million contract in January. He has strung together an impressive rookie campaign of his own, going 12-3 with a 2.99 ERA, 1.017 WHIP, 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings and a 2.8 WAR.

Seiya Suzuki is the only one of the bunch who didn't score a big contract last winter, although he was one of Chicago's biggest additions in 2022. This season, he is batting .270 with 19 home runs, 64 RBI, 14 stolen bases, an .818 OPS and a 2.8 WAR.

Here are the Dodgers and Cubs' full starting lineups for Tuesday:

Chicago Cubs

1. Ian Happ, LF
2. Dansby Swanson, SS
3. Seiya Suzuki, DH
4. Cody Bellinger, RF
5. Isaac Paredes, 3B
6. Michael Busch, 1B
7. Nico Hoerner, 2B
8. Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
9. Miguel Amaya, C
SP: Shota Imanaga, LHP

Los Angeles Dodgers

1. Shohei Othani, DH
2. Mookie Betts, RF
3. Freddie Freeman, 1B
4. Tommy Edman, CF
5. Andy Pages, LF
6. Miguel Rojas, SS
7. Max Muncy, 3B
8. Kiké Hernández, 2B
9. Austin Barnes, C
SP: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, RHP

First pitch from Dodger Stadium is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. ET.

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