Imanaga honored to be part of historic pitching matchup when Cubs face the Dodgers in Japan

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Chicago Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga said Wednesday he was “very honored” to receive the opening day start against the Los Angeles Dodgers when the teams meet March 18 in Tokyo.

It is the first of two games between the Cubs and Dodgers in Tokyo.

The Dodgers will counter with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, marking the first time two Japan-born pitchers have started against each other in a major league regular-season game in their home country.

“The reason that Japanese players are getting a lot of attention is because of all the players in the past that came before us who created this path for all the Japanese players,” Imanaga said through an interpreter. “We're walking on their history.”

Imanaga comes off a strong rookie season in which he went 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA, striking out 174 hitters in 173 1/3 innings.

Yamamoto, whom the Dodgers signed to a $325 million, 10-year contract in December 2023, finished his rookie season 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA with 105 Ks in 90 innings. The right-hander was on the injured list for nearly three months because of an injured throwing arm.

“I think worldwide fan interest is going to be off the charts,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Tuesday after Imanaga was announced as the starter. “It's an awesome thing just for the game of baseball. What better thing than to have those two guys face off in Game 1?”

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