The Los Angeles Dodgers’ title defense started on a positive note after securing a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Japan’s Tokyo Dome. Despite Mookie Betts’ absence, the Dodgers needed only one big inning to win the first game of the 2025 Major League Baseball Tokyo Series.
While the Cubs scored first courtesy of a Miguel Amaya double that drove Dansby Swanson home, it was all Dodgers since. Tommy Edman’s RBI single scored the tying run, while Teoscar Hernandez’s ground out allowed Shohei Ohtani to give Los Angeles the lead.
Will Smith’s single allowed Hernandez to safely cross home plate, giving the Dodgers a 3-1 advantage. Finally, at the top of the ninth inning, Hernandez’s RBI single made it two runs scored for Ohtani and a 4-1 lead.
Meanwhile, Yoshinobu Yamamoto won the pitching duel against his countrymen Shota Imanaga. While Imanaga allowed no hits and collected two strikeouts in four innings, Yamamoto had four strikeouts in five innings.
The Dodgers and the Cubs will battle again tomorrow, eight days before Opening Day 2025.
-Lance Fernandez