Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw five strong innings, Shohei Ohtani had two hits and scored twice, and the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 4-1 on Tuesday in Major League Baseball’s season opener at the Tokyo Dome.

Playing in front of their home country, Yamamoto and Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga both pitched well in the first all-Japanese starting pitching matchup on opening day in MLB history. Imanaga threw four scoreless innings, allowing no hits but walking four.

The Dodgers jumped on Cubs reliever Ben Brown (0-1) in the fifth, scoring three runs, partly because of a throwing error by second baseman Jon Berti. Tommy Edman and Will Smith had RBI singles.

Ohtani was part of the rally, delivering a hard-hit single through the right side. He finished 2 for 5 at the plate, including a double to lead off the ninth, eventually scoring another run.

Yamamoto (1-0) gave up one run on three hits and a walk, striking out four. Tanner Scott earned his first save.

Chicago’s Miguel Amaya drove in Dansby Swanson with a two-out double that made it 1-0 in the second. The Cubs didn’t have a hit after the third.

Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman was scratched before the game because of left rib discomfort. Shortstop Mookie Betts will miss both games in Japan because of an illness.

skenes to start opener for pirates >> Pittsburgh right-hander Paul Skenes, the reigning National League Rookie of the Year award winner, will be the youngest pitcher in 11 years to start a season opener when he takes the mound for the Pirates next week.

Skenes will be 22 years and 302 days old on March 27 when Pittsburgh plays at Miami. José Fernández of the Marlins was 21 years and 243 days old when he opened the 2014 season.

In its annual announcement of the opening day starters, most of which had been already informally confirmed by their clubs during spring training, Major League Baseball also revealed Tuesday that Skenes will be the fastest first overall draft pick to make an opening day start.

Skenes was drafted by the Pirates in 2023. Mike Moore was the first selection by Seattle in 1981 and started opening day for the Mariners in 1984, and Stephen Strasburg was the top pick by Washington in 2009 and made his first opening day start for the Nationals in 2012.

Three natives of Japan got the nods for their openers, the most in MLB history. Shota Imanaga of the Chicago Cubs and Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers were the starters for the grand opener in Tokyo on Tuesday, a 4-1 win for Yamamoto and the Dodgers. Yusei Kikuchi will also start for the Los Angeles Angels on March 27 against the Chicago White Sox.

Seven other Japanese-born players have previously started season openers: Shohei Ohtani, Yu Darvish, Kenta Maeda, Masahiro Tanaka, Hiroki Kuroda, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideo Nomo.

Two teams have yet to declare their opening day starter: Arizona and Cleveland. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said he’s deciding between newcomer Corbin Burnes and Zac Gallen for the road game against the Cubs. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt has yet to commit, but all signs point to Tanner Bibee, who pitched in a Cactus League exhibition game on Monday that lines up his rest schedule to be ready for the March 27 game against Kansas City.

With the Cubs and Dodgers getting a head start, the 28 other teams will open on March 27. Four of the opening day starters will make their debuts with a new team: Garrett Crochet with Boston, Clay Holmes with the New York Mets, Luis Severino with the Athletics and Kikuchi with the Angels.

rangers sign corbin >> The Texas Rangers signed free-agent left-hander Patrick Corbin to a one-year contract, plugging a durable veteran into their injury-addled starting rotation. Corbin, who’ll enter his 13th major league season, struggled through most of his six-year, $140 million contract with the Washington Nationals, but he’s a two-time All-Star who is the only pitcher in baseball who made 31 or more starts in every full season since 2017.