The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs will kick off Main League Baseball’s 2025 common season on March 18-19 with a two-game set in Tokyo, Japan. The host nation might be well-represented, notably on the mound. Whereas nothing has been made official, either side have signaled that the primary sport may characteristic a marquee matchup between Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga and Dodgers righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Each pitchers are, after all, from Japan.

Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts informed reporters on Wednesday that it is “honest to say” Yamamoto will get the nod within the first sport, based on MLB.com. Roberts added that the Dodgers are additionally planning for Roki Sasaki to make each his crew and MLB debut throughout that sequence, relying on his standing because the spring progresses. Sasaki’s look can be as a starter, not a reliever.

As for the Cubs, Imanaga lately declared the next by an interpreter: “It is my job to start out Opening (Day) in Japan, I feel I need to preserve my accountability and do properly over there.”

Imanaga and Yamamoto are every coming into their second seasons in MLB. Imanaga compiled a 2.91 ERA (137 ERA+) and a 6.21 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 29 begins final 12 months. Yamamoto, conversely, generated a 3.00 ERA (129 ERA+) and a 4.77 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 18 outings. Sasaki, once more, might be coming into his “rookie” 12 months after becoming a member of the Dodgers as an newbie free agent this winter.

These three pitchers aren’t the one Japanese gamers on both roster. The Cubs additionally make use of outfielder Seiya Suzuki, whereas the Dodgers have two-way celebrity Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani, by the way in which, isn’t anticipated to make his long-awaited return to the mound till Could, which means that he isn’t a candidate to pitch in the course of the opening sequence in Tokyo.