The Los Angeles Dodgers won the opening two consecutive Major League Baseball (MLB) games against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, Japan, starting a strong start to the 'World Series for the second consecutive time'. Shohei Ohtani launched his first home run of the season in front of his native Japanese audience.
The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Cubs 6-3 with three home runs in Game 2 of the '2025 MLB regular season' held at Tokyo Dome, Japan on the 19th. With this, the Dodgers won both of their season-opening two consecutive games against the Cubs. In the opening game held at the same place the day before, the Dodgers won 4-1.
The best scene of the game was Ohtani's first home run explosion of the season. Ohtani, who started as the first designated hitter on the day, hit a solo home run at the plate after one out in the top of the fifth inning with his team leading 5-2. Ohtani, who faced Nate Pearson, the Cubs' second pitcher, drew a right-center arch by pulling a 159km/h fastball that entered the middle of the strike zone with a ball count of 2B-2S.
The ball entered the stands and came out to the ground, which was recognized as a home run after a video review. Japanese spectators shouted wildly when Ohtani's first home run of the season hit. Ohtani had one hit (one home run) in three at-bats (one home run), two walks, one RBI and one run.
The Dodgers starter on the day was Japanese fastball pitcher Loki Sasaki, who joined the team through posting in January. It was Sasaki's major league debut. The pitch was still powerful. From the first inning of the first inning, he hit 100 miles (160 kilometers per hour) of fastballs in succession.
But the location shook as if it were a bit nervous. Eventually, he left the mound in three innings. He had only one hit, but he allowed one run with a walk. He struck out three and allowed five walks.
In addition, Tommy Hyun-soo Edman, who joined the Korean national team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic and played as the main second baseman, hit a solo home run at the top of the third inning after two outs, becoming the star of the first Major League home run this season. For the Dodgers, it is a very fresh start to the season.
The Dodgers had a chance to score on the second and third bases with no outs in the top of the second inning with a walk by leadoff Taj Will Smith and a double to the right by Max Muncy. He easily scored the first point with the Cubs' fastball here. In the third base with no outs, Enrique Hernandez hit a sacrifice fly to score an additional point.
Leading 2-0 in the top of the third inning, the Dodgers added Edman's solo home run to make it 3-0. Edman, who started as second baseman on the day, came out in the top of the third inning with two outs and no runners, and immediately turned his bat and sent the ball over the left fence when Cubs starter Justin Steele's sixth fastball came in high. It was his first home run in the Major League this season.
The Cubs finally started to run after Sasaki's ball control in the bottom of the third inning. Sasaki, who finished the first and second innings without allowing a run, recorded his first run by throwing three consecutive walks with no outs and second base. But there were no more runs. With the bases loaded with one out, he struck out consecutively to overcome the crisis inning.
The Dodgers, who blocked the bases with just one run with no outs, ran to 5-1 in the top of the fourth inning with Hernandez's two-run left-hander on second base with one out. The Dodgers' coaching staff replaced Sasaki with Luis Garcia in defense in the bottom of the fourth inning. Garcia allowed one run in the bottom of the fourth to make it 5-2.
A situation in which the Cubs set the tide of chase. Ohtani turned the mood that was moving toward the Cubs with a hot shot. He hit a wedge solo shot against Pearson at bat after one out in the top of the fifth inning.
The Dodgers, who made a four-run lead again, allowed one run in the bottom of the fifth inning, but ended the game without additional runs due to the strength of the bullpen. The Dodgers and Cubs, who have played two consecutive games in Tokyo, will return to the U.S. to complete their exhibition game schedule before entering the regular league.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
