Home again Japanese stars take centre stage for Los Angeles Dodger Chicago Cubs in Tokyo

TOKYO – A hearty homecoming is on tap as Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Los Angeles Dodgers will open the new Major League Baseball (MLB) season at the Tokyo Dome on March 18 against fellow Japanese Shota Imanaga, Seiya Suzuki and the Chicago Cubs.

Yamamoto will take the mound for the reigning World Series champions Dodgers in the first contest of a two-game set labelled the Tokyo Series. Imanaga will have the honour for the Cubs.

Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki, one of the top free agents on the market in the off-season, will start on March 19 for Los Angeles against Chicago left-hander Justin Steele.

Ohtani was the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player last season and also became the first 50-50 player in MLB history. The two-way standout led the league with 134 runs scored, 54 home runs and 59 steals to propel the Dodgers (98-64) to the NL West title.

A five-game win over the San Diego Padres in the NL Division Series and a six-game triumph in the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets advanced the club to the World Series.

Ohtani, however, sustained a left shoulder injury while stealing second base during Los Angeles’ victory in Game 2 against the New York Yankees. But he returned to help the Dodgers claim the World Series in five games.

Ohtani, 30, on March 15 showed he has got a clean bill of health, launching a two-run homer in the third inning of Los Angeles’ 5-1 win in an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants.

“We’re all waiting in great anticipation,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said of the upcoming series.

“Shohei, to be quite honest, in the last seven years has represented almost single-handedly the people of Japan. So for him to come back here