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Kyodo News
Kyodo News
Major League Baseball’s 2025 season began Tuesday with the first-ever Opening Day matchup between Japanese starting pitchers when the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs met at Tokyo Dome. Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga got three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani to ground out to second at the start of the game before Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto took the mound in the bottom of the first inning. Freddie Freeman, the reigning World Series MVP, was scratched from the Dodgers’ starting lineup just before the game. The reason for his removal was not immediately available. Dodgers manager Dave…