Cubs, Dodgers to Open 2025 MLB Season With Two-Game Series in Tokyo

Patrick Andres | Jul 18, 2024

Jul 15, 2024; Arlington, TX, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani warms up with Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga before the 2024 Home Run Derby at Globe Life Field. / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

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The 2025 MLB season will begin with a battle between two of baseball's Japanese superstars.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs are scheduled to open '25 with a two-game series in Tokyo, the league announced Thursday.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the series will pit Dodgers designated hitter and pitcher Shohei Ohtani against Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga. Ohtani is from Ōshū, Japan while Imanaga is from Kitakyushu in the southern part of the country.

Together, the current and future MLB superstars helped Japan beat the United States in a final for the ages to win the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Ohtani, the two-time MVP of the American League, is slashing .316/.400/.635 in 2024 with 29 home runs and 69 RBIs. Imanaga, a rookie, is 8–2 with a 2.97 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 97 innings pitched.

This will mark the sixth occasion on which MLB has played games in Tokyo; baseball most recently did so in 2019, where the Seattle Mariners swept the Oakland Athletics in a two-game set.

Published Jul 18, 2024

PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .