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Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki were the stars of the day for the LA Dodgers on Wednesday. Ohtani blasted a home run and Sasaki made the start of his MLB debut in front of their home fans in Japan.
The Dodgers and Chicago Cubs were in Tokyo for an international series, the first chance for Ohtani to return home and play a baseball game since he joined the MLB in 2018.
Ohtani may have hit a home run, but Sasaki, in his MLB debut, was good enough to get LA the win and secure an opening sweep of NL competitors this year.
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Ohtani praised Sasaki for how he played.
"I felt a lot more relaxed today overall," Ohtani said. "I think Roki really did a great job giving us a chance to win today."
As for his performance, Ohtani was pleased he got a home run.
"I was happy I was able to hit a homer off a pretty good pitcher," Ohtani said. "I thought the ball was going to travel a little bit more, so I'm glad it barely at least got in."
Ohtani went 3/8 in the two games and had a single, double and a home run. On Wednesday, it was Ohtani and Sasaki, but on Tuesday, the slugging DH helped another Japanese starter, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, guide the Dodgers to victory.
Shohei Ohtani reflects on successful Japanese trip
The LA Dodgers made the trip to Japan and gave local fans a chance to watch the trio of Japanese superstars play: Roki Sasaki (Game 2 starter), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Game 1 starter) and Shohei Ohtani.
Outside of the Japanese trio, the rest of the Dodgers experienced Japan on and off the field for the first time. Ohtani was glad that his teammates got that opportunity.
"I'm happy that my teammates got to experience Japan on and off the field," Ohtani said in a postgame interview on Wednesday. "But most importantly, coming away with two wins is something really huge for us. Glad that we're going to head back to the U.S. on a good note."
LA and the Chicago Cubs will return home. They played this series about a week before everyone else begins their MLB season, so they will go back to the U.S. to readjust time zones and will resume the regular season on March 27 along with the rest of the league.
