Los Angeles sweeps the Tokyo Series despite a strong opening performance from Shota Imanaga, leaving Chicago to regroup before its domestic opener.
Professional · Baseball · MLB
Published: Oct 13, 2026
TOKYO: Shota Imanaga gave the Chicago Cubs almost everything they could have hoped for on the first day of the 2025 Major League Baseball season.
Facing the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in his home country, Imanaga delivered four scoreless innings at Tokyo Dome. The left-hander allowed four walks but no hits, keeping one of baseball's most dangerous lineups off the scoreboard.
Chicago could not turn his performance into a victory.
The Dodgers rallied after Imanaga departed, winning Tuesday's opener 4–1 before completing the two-game sweep with a 6–3 victory Wednesday.
The results left the Cubs 0–2 before the rest of baseball had begun its traditional domestic schedule.
They also exposed a familiar problem: generating enough offense when facing elite pitching.
A special assignment for Imanaga
The opening matchup carried meaning well beyond the standings.
Imanaga was pitching in Japan for the first time as a major leaguer, taking the mound against fellow Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Shohei Ohtani occupied the Dodgers' lineup.
The setting placed Japanese baseball at the center of MLB's international opening series.
For Imanaga, the opportunity carried additional expectations. A successful performance would serve Chicago competitively while demonstrating his ability on one of the sport's biggest stages.
He responded with four scoreless innings.
The walks demonstrated that his command was not perfect. But his ability to prevent hits and runs was particularly valuable against an offense featuring Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
Chicago entered the fifth inning with a narrow advantage and an opportunity to win its opener.
The pitching matchup had lived up to expectations.
The Cubs' inability to sustain that advantage became the larger story.
Los Angeles finds its opening
The Dodgers finally broke through after Imanaga left the game.
Ohtani collected two hits during the opener, while Los Angeles found enough offensive production to erase Chicago's advantage.
The Cubs had not generated sufficient separation while Imanaga was controlling the Dodgers.
That became increasingly costly when the bullpen entered.
Against a lineup as dangerous as Los Angeles', even a small number of additional baserunners can change the game.
The Dodgers capitalized.
Chicago's offense, meanwhile, struggled to produce another meaningful response.
The result was a 4–1 defeat despite an impressive opening performance from its starter.
That is an important distinction.
The loss did not mean Imanaga had failed.
It meant Chicago's complete pitching and offensive performance was not sufficient to defeat the defending champions.
Wednesday brings another test
The Cubs returned to Tokyo Dome for Game 2 seeking a split.
Instead, Los Angeles won 6–3.
The Dodgers' ability to generate offense across both games was significant because their starting pitching had already placed Chicago under pressure.
The Cubs were forced to find production against a staff featuring some of the sport's most talented arms.
That challenge revealed how little margin Chicago possessed when its lineup could not consistently manufacture scoring opportunities.
A three-run performance in Game 2 represented improvement over the opener, but it was not enough.
Los Angeles finished the international series with two victories.
Chicago returned to the United States searching for its first.
What the sweep actually means
Two defeats cannot determine an entire 162-game season.
The unusual circumstances of playing regular-season games in Japan, followed by additional preparation before the domestic schedule, make the Tokyo Series a unique competitive environment.
But the results still count.
Chicago begins the season 0–2.
The Cubs also received an early look at the level of execution required to compete against the National League's leading teams.
Imanaga showed that Chicago possesses starting pitching capable of handling elite opponents.
The broader staff must maintain that effectiveness.
And the lineup must develop ways to score when opposing pitchers limit extra-base opportunities.
Those responsibilities will shape the club's season far more than the novelty of opening in another country.
A memorable trip, an unfinished assignment
For Japanese players and fans, the Tokyo Series represented an extraordinary gathering of major league talent.
For Chicago, it was also the beginning of a season carrying considerable expectations.
Manager Craig Counsell has a roster featuring established veterans, young athletic talent and enough pitching to pursue a postseason berth.
The Cubs have invested in becoming more than a team that remains competitive into September.
They want to play meaningful baseball in October.
That journey begins with two defeats.
Imanaga gave the Cubs a performance they could build around.
The offense and bullpen now must provide the support necessary to turn similar performances into victories.
LOS ANGELES — Milwaukee needed only one inning to take back the lead. By the end of the night, the Brewers had taken something considerably larger from the Dodgers: nearly all their room for error.
DOPE Sports Network Staff · Oct 14, 2026
William Contreras had already answered one Dodgers lead when he stepped into the middle of another Milwaukee comeback. His fifth-inning home run brought the Brewers even. His sixth-inning single put them ahead. By the time Aaron Ashby recorded the final out, Los Angeles had exhausted eight pitchers without finding a way to stop Milwaukee from coming back.
DOPE Sports Network Staff · Oct 14, 2026
Milwaukee's four relievers in NLCS Game 2 allowed the Dodgers no hits and no walks over five innings. That line is the simplest way to locate the difference between a game the Brewers repeatedly had to repair and a finish they could control. Once the bullpen took responsibility for the remaining outs, Los Angeles stopped producing baserunners through either of those routes.
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