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Ohtani leads Dodgers to MLB season-opening win in Tokyo / Photo: Yuichi YAMAZAKI - AFP
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Ohtani leads Dodgers to MLB season-opening win in Tokyo
Shohei Ohtani and the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers started the new Major League Baseball season with a win, beating the Chicago Cubs 4-1 in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Fans packed into the Tokyo Dome to watch Ohtani in action and the Japanese superstar delivered with two important hits as the Dodgers came from behind to get the victory.
The Dodgers' Japanese starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out four in five innings to come out on top in his duel with Chicago counterpart Shota Imanaga.
It was the first time two Japanese starting pitchers had ever gone head to head on MLB's opening day.
Imanaga pitched four hitless innings but the Cubs fell apart when he was relieved by Ben Brown.
Hitter Seiya Suzuki also appeared for the Cubs to give the Tokyo crowd a fourth Japanese player to cheer on.
Ohtani was playing his first regular-season MLB game in his home country and excitement was close to fever pitch leading up to the game.
The action got underway after a Pokemon-themed opening ceremony that featured an appearance by Japanese world champion boxer Naoya Inoue.
Ohtani stepped up to the plate to start the game but the first pitch whistled past him for a strike before he grounded out to first base.
The Cubs had taken a one-run lead by the time Ohtani came back to bat and he again failed to get a hit, lining out to second baseman Jon Berti.
Ohtani got his first hit off reliever Brown and it gave the Dodgers the spark they needed as they scored three runs in the fifth inning to take the lead.
Ohtani struck out in his fourth at-bat but got a hit in his fifth as the Dodgers added another run.
The Dodgers were missing Mookie Betts and World Series MVP Freddie Freeman.
Betts was sent home to LA on Monday after struggling with flu-like symptoms throughout the Tokyo trip, while Freeman was scratched from the starting line-up half an hour before the game with a sore rib.
O.Hartmann--BlnAP
