Shohei Ohtani torches old teammate as Dodgers pull away from Cubs in Tokyo Series opener

The Dodgers couldn't manage to get a single hit down against Shota Imanaga through the first four innings of the Tokyo Series opener. Imanaga gave up four walks but managed to pitch around all of them, while the Cubs gave him a one-run lead on a Miguel Amaya double. But the Dodgers had far less trouble against rookie Ben Brown, who gave up three runs in the top of the fifth to give LA the lead. Brown cleaned up his act through the sixth and 2/3 of the seventh, but the damage had been done.

The scoring stopped after that third inning for both teams. Yoshinobu Yamamoto went five innings and only gave up the one run to Amaya, then Anthony Banda, Ben Casparius, and Blake Treinen all refused to yield a single hit.

Cubs offseason addition Eli Morgan took over for Brown, giving up just one hit in 1 1/3, and then Chicago trotted out a familiar face for the Dodgers: Ryan Brasier.

Brasier was DFA'ed by the Dodgers and then traded to the Cubs this offseason to make room for Kirby Yates, even though Brasier was far from being the member of the bullpen most deserving of a DFA. He had the perfect opportunity to show up his old team, but there was a problem: Shohei Ohtani, the star of the whole affair, was the first batter he was set to face.

Ohtani got to a 2-2 count, and then stuck his bat out at a slider a few inches below the zone. The ball still left the bat at almost 108 MPH and tailed down the right field line to give Ohtani his first extra-base hit of the season.

Shohei Ohtani ignites Dodgers offense in Tokyo Series opener against former teammate Ryan Brasier

Tommy Edman grounded out for the first out of the inning, but it sent Ohtani to third base for Teoscar Hernández, who grabbed ahold of a second-pitch sinker (also out of the zone) that was sent to left field and allowed Ohtani to score. Brasier walked Will Smith, but limited the damage to just one run with a strikeout on Max Muncy and a popout from Kiké Hernández.

The Dodgers brought in one of their prized offseason acquisitions, Tanner Scott, to get his first save in Dodger blue in the ninth. And he didn't miss a beat, inducing a line out from Kyle Tucker and then a flyout from another former Dodger in Justin Turner, and then striking out top Cubs prospect Matt Shaw in three pitches.

It solidified the Dodgers' first win of the 2025 season, but there should be a lot more of those on the way.