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, delivering in clutch moments as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 4-1 in Major League Baseball’s season opener.
“I was actually pretty nervous,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “It’s been a while since I was nervous, but today, definitely felt it.”
Ohtani finished with two hits in the Dodgers’ win, including a single in the fifth and a double in the ninth. Both hard-hit balls brought roars from the roughly 42,000 fans at a packed Tokyo Dome and were instrumental in helping the Dodgers get off to a good start this season.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Shohei nervous,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “One thing I did notice is how emotional he got during the Japanese national anthem. That was something very telling.”
Yamamoto pitched five quality innings to earn the win, giving up just one run on three hits and a walk while striking out four. The right-hander’s fastball touched 98 mph and consistently sat in the 96-97 range, which is a few ticks higher than last year.
It was the first time Yamamoto had been on the mound in a regular season game since his fantastic performance in Game 2 of the World Series, and the results carried over to the Tokyo Dome
“What I experienced in October, I learned a lot of things,” Yamamoto said through a translator. “What I should and what I shouldn’t do in certain situations. Based on that, I feel more confident.”
Yamamoto said he wasn’t trying to overthrow on his fastball. Instead, he said better mechanics have allowed him to throw a little harder. Roberts said there’s no reason the 26-year-old can’t compete for the NL Cy Young award if he pitches like he did against the Cubs and stays healthy.
“Great outing, I thought he commanded the baseball really well tonight,” Roberts said. “The fastball was as good as we’ve seen. Competed really well. There was some soft contact in there and he just navigated the game really well.”
Even in a losing effort, Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga was fantastic through four scoreless innings, giving up no hits while walking four. The Imanaga vs. Yamamoto matchup was the first all-Japanese starting pitching duel on opening day in MLB history.
“Imanaga and Yamamoto did a really good job handling the nerves of the start of the game,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.
Imanaga said he was pleased with his outing, even if the final result wasn’t what he wanted. The lefty retired Ohtani twice, once on a groundout and another time on a lineout. He said the experience from Tuesday’s game should serve him well throughout the season.
“One of the lessons regarding the fastball was it felt really good,” Imanaga said through an interpreter. “Once I go back to the US — obviously there’s differences in humidity, environment and how far the ball goes — but bottom line if I can throw the fastball I did today all the time and have confidence in it, I’ll be good.”
The only Japanese player who had a quiet night was Cubs slugger Seiya Suzuki, who finished 0 for 4 at the plate. With a runner on second in the eighth inning, he hit the ball fairly hard, but Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy was there to snag the line drive.
Japanese rookie Roki Sasaki will make his MLB debut on Wednesday night when the teams meet against at the Tokyo Dome for the finale of the two-game set.
