Cody Snavely
Game 2, 3/19/2025: Dodgers 6, Cubs 3
TOKYO—After an Opening Day win in Tokyo, Japan, over the Chicago Cubs on the back of elite pitching from Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Dodgers bullpen, which threw four perfect frames, the Dodgers would turn to another Japanese phenom in 23-year-old rookie right-hander Roki Sasaki, who will be making his Major League debut.
Sasaki would be making his debut in familiar territory, not far removed from pitching in the Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB) after only being posted this past winter.
On back-to-back nights, the Dodgers offense would face a left-handed pitcher. Yesterday, it was Cubs ace Shota Imanaga; today, it was lefty Justin Steele.
Unlike yesterday, the Dodgers would get the game’s scoring started thanks to a passed ball that would score catcher Will Smith, who drew a walk to start the inning. Kiké Hernández would keep the scoring going in the inning with a 1-out sacrifice fly, scoring Max Muncy, who doubled in the inning, also.
An inning later in the third, the Dodgers would tack on another run thanks to a solo shot from utilityman Tommy Edman, the first Dodgers home run of the season. It was not a 3-0 lead for the Dodgers over the Cubs, but a fantastic lead for Roki Sasaki.
Overall, Sasaki’s debut was electric but wild. The righty would blast off a 100mph fastball for the first pitch of his Major League career and started off his frame with 1-2-3 innings, picking up his first strikeout curtsy of Seiya Suzuki.
The following two innings were not as clean for Sasaki, where. He would walk two batters in the bottom of the second inning but would be saved by an inning-ending unassisted double play by veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas.
The third is where it would really unravel for Sasaki. After getting a quick first out of Carson Kelly, Sasaki would allow a single to Jon Berti and then issue three straight free passes, getting the Cubs their first run of the night.
Sasaki would punch out the next two batters, but it would take twenty-eight pitches to do so, forcing Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to go to his bullpen early in the fourth inning.
In his debut, Sasaki pitched three solid innings for the Dodgers, allowing one hit, one earned run, five walks, three strikeouts on fifty-six pitches (twenty-five strikes), and five whiffs.
Luckily for Sasaki, the Dodgers’ offense was not done scoring tonight. The very next inning, the Dodgers added on thanks to a massive two-run home run by Kiké Hernández, giving the Dodgers a 5-1 lead in the top of the fourth.
The Dodgers would hit their third home run of the game in the top of the fifth inning by no other than Shohei Ohtani, giving the fans in Tokyo, Japan, what they wanted to see. It was Ohtani’s first home run of the season, narrowly clearing the right-field wall.
The Dodgers offense does just enough in both games this series out slugging and pitching the Cubs in the short two games series. The bullpen like yesterday was lights out, despite more traffic in the final six innings.
The Dodgers will head back to Los Angeles where they’ll begin a three-game exhibition series on Sunday.
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