Baseball fans, it’s time to reset our alarms and fantasy lineups—MLB is officially back! The 2025 season kicks off in Japan with an exciting matchup between the Chicago Cubs and the star-studded Los Angeles Dodgers. For American audiences, the action begins early Tuesday morning (5 a.m. local time in Chicago, 3 a.m. in L.A.).
As the legendary Brooks Robinson once described, baseball is "passion to the point of obsession." Meanwhile, Ebby LaLoosh simplified it even further: "a very simple game."
MLB Tokyo Series Details
- Venue: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo
- Dates: Tuesday, March 18 & Wednesday, March 19
- Time: 6 a.m. ET
- TV Broadcast:
- National: Fox, FS1, Fox Deportes
- In-market: Spectrum SportsNet, Marquee Sports Network
- Streaming: Available on Fubo (free trial available)
Japanese Pitching Talent Takes Center Stage
Three of the four scheduled starting pitchers in this series are Japanese. On Tuesday, Cubs’ Shota Imanaga will face the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto. On Wednesday, Dodgers’ ace Roki Sasaki will battle against Cubs left-hander Justin Steele. It is a historic occurrence because, before this series, only Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideki Okajima, and Yusei Kikuchi have actually ever thrown a MLB pitch at the Tokyo Dome.
Meanwhile, Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki is fully embracing this moment, even taking batting-practice swings with a samurai sword.
Dodgers Look to Defend Their Crown
The Los Angeles Dodgers, the reigning World Series champions, enter the 2025 season with enormous expectations. Typically, championship teams undergo some roster shake-up, but the Dodgers instead have fortified an already dominating squad.
This offseason brought Japanese sensation Roki Sasaki and two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell into the Dodgers' pitching rotation. With an already-stacked lineup of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and more, the Dodgers look to embark on another postseason run.
Cubs vs. Dodgers: 2024 Season Recap
- Head-to-Head Record: The Cubs won four of six meetings against the Dodgers last season, averaging seven runs per game.
- Dodgers' Offensive Rankings (2024):
- 2nd in total runs
- 3rd in home runs
- 4th in batting average
- 13th in team ERA
- Cubs’ Performance (2024):
- 10th in team ERA
- Below league average in slugging and OPS
Cubs’ Offseason Moves and Expectations
The Cubs have made one of their most aggressive moves in a number of years rather by acquiring Kyle Tucker. The 28-year-old slugger has been a consistent beast; in the last three full seasons, he averaged 30 homers, 104 RBIs, and 23 stolen bases. Though he missed about half of the 2024 season with a shin fracture, he still belted 23 home runs in just 78 games.
Notable Players Who Have Worn Both Uniforms
- Cody Bellinger
- Joc Pederson
- Craig Kimbrel
- Yu Darvish
- Jason Heyward