Yoshinobu Yamamoto had a little extra zip on his fastball. Shohei Ohtani even admitted to some nerves. There was little doubt this was no ordinary baseball game. But the Japanese players who were playing in front of their home country at the Tokyo Dome on Tuesday night handled any jitters they had quite well,

The defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers opened the 2025 season by sweeping the Chicago Cubs in a two-game series in Japan. Highlights included the return of two-way star Shohei Ohtani to his native country.