MLB’s biggest Japanese stars were on full display as Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers beat the Cubs 4–1 on Tuesday in front of more than 42,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome to open the 2025 regular season.
The game, which was a primetime affair in Japan, aired at 6 a.m. ET on Fox in the U.S.
Ohtani, the reigning NL MVP, went 2-for-5 from the plate and scored two runs. The two-way star is scheduled to begin pitching again in May, but his fellow countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto recorded the win, giving up three hits and one earned run across five innings. Yamamoto left Japan’s top league after the 2023 season to sign a 12-year, $325 million contract with Los Angeles. Ohtani is entering the second season of his record, 10-year, $700 million deal.
Fellow Japanese players pitcher Shota Imanaga and DH Seiya Suzuki were also in the lineup for the Cubs.
Last week, resale ticket prices for Tuesday’s game had reached $2,000. On game day, less than 1% of the tickets were reportedly available on secondary markets, with the cheapest ones selling for $3,500. That’s more expensive than the ultimate get-in price for Super Bowl LIX last month in New Orleans.
International Flair
Fox Sports did not send its announcers overseas for the two-game Tokyo Series, which will conclude Wednesday morning (ET) on FS1. Jason Benetti and A.J. Pierzynski called Tuesday’s game remotely. Adam Amin will sub in for Benetti in Game 2.
While the U.S. TV ratings for the early-morning games won’t be great, viewership for the series in Japan should be sky-high. There were record numbers for the Dodgers-Yankees World Series, despite those games airing in the morning in Japan due to the 16-hour time difference from the U.S. West Coast. Game 1 of the World Series drew an average Japanese audience of 14.4 million.
