TOKYO -- Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw five strong innings, Shohei Ohtani had two hits and scored twice, and the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 4-1 on Tuesday in Major League Baseball's season opener at the Tokyo Dome.
Playing in front of their home country, Yamamoto and Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga both pitched well in the first all-Japanese starting pitching matchup on Opening Day in MLB history. Imanaga threw four scoreless innings, allowing no hits but walking four.
The Dodgers jumped on Cubs reliever Ben Brown (0-1) in the fifth, scoring three runs, partly because of a throwing error by second baseman Jon Berti.