The Dodgers and Cubs squared off in the first game of the 2025 season with the Dodgers taking Game 1 of the series by a score of 4-1.
A nice day for Shota Imanaga
Making his homecoming, Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga mowed down the first three Dodgers batters in just eight pitches. This would set the stage for his day to follow.
His only blemish would be the four walks he allowed. Very uncharacteristic for Imanaga given last year he did a great job of limited walks all season. His single-game high for walks last season was just three batters. Perhaps it was opening day jitters, but Imanaga missed the strike zone more than usual.
Thankfully for him, he also missed Dodgers bats. In his four innings of work, he would allow zero hits, and zero runs while striking out two on 69 pitches.
A heavy dose of the Cubs bullpen
He then gave way to Ben Brown for the start of the fifth inning. Ben Brown allowed the first Dodger run to score on a Tommy Edman single. Afterwards another run would be scored by Shohei Ohtani off a throwing error by Jon Berti on a double play attempt. That would be followed by a Will Smith single, that scored Teoscar Hernandez.
Cubs top prospect Matt Shaw would make his MLB debut today. He was unable to produce any offense and his most notable play was a throwing error in the sixth.
But despite a shaky start, Brown had a solid outing overall. His knuckle-curve looked filthy and his fastball was good. He needs to locate better, but overall encouraging day from the 6’6 flamethrower.
Finishing the 7th inning for the Cubs would be Eli Morgan. Morgan looked great as he would pitch 1.1 innings of shutout ball in the 7th/8th innings.
Concluding the night for the Cubs would be former Dodger Ryan Brasier. He would allow Shohei Ohtani to double and score, increasing the Dodger lead to 4-1 going into the bottom of the ninth for the Cubs.
Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani would have a nice afternoon. The reigning National League MVP went 2-5 with a double and two runs scored.
Yamamoto shined in his homecoming
Dansby Swanson got the Cubs bats going with his single in the 2nd inning. This would be followed by a Miguel Amaya double two batters later, scoring Dansby and giving the Cubs the early 1-0 lead.
But after that, Yamamoto would dominate. In five innings of work, he would allow just one run on three hits, strike out four, and only walk one. He exited the game with a 3-1 lead.
Following Yamamoto, Dodgers pitcher Anthony Banda would handle the sixth inning and allow zero baserunners.
Ben Casparius would take the 7th and nearly gave up an opposite-field homer to Dansby Swanson, before retiring the side.
At this point, the Cubs offense seemed lifeless as 15 straight batters were sat down by Dodgers pitching.
In the 8th Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen hit Jon Berti with a 97 MPH fastball, and as revenge, he stole second on the next pitch. But that would limit the damage that inning as Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki would be retired soon after.
With just three outs left to score the required three runs to tie, the Cubs offense was mute. Following flyouts from Kyle Tucker and Justin Turner, the game ended on a Matt Shaw strikeout.
Final thoughts
The Cub’s pitching struggled in this one and gave up too many free passes to a loaded Dodgers lineup. Additionally, you can’t expect to beat the Dodgers scoring just one run. Their shaky defense certainly didn’t help either.
The Dodgers and Cubs will play one more game against each other in Japan tomorrow at 5 AM central time before heading back to the United States.
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