MLB announced the full schedule of start times for the 2025 season, which includes the season opener as the Los Angeles Dodgers face the Chicago Cubs in the Tokyo Series for two games.
The Tokyo Series will have both games played beginning at 7:10 p.m. local time (3:10 a.m. PT) on March 18 and 19 at the Tokyo Dome.
Presented by Guggenheim, it’s MLB’s sixth Opening Series in Japan and the first since 2019. It also represents the 25th anniversary of the first-ever regular season games played in Japan in 2000 between the Cubs and the New York Mets.
This year’s installment of MLB’s World Tour to Japan features Japan natives Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers squaring off against their fellow Japan natives Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki of the Cubs.
The last MLB games in Japan in 2019 saw the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics face off at the Tokyo Dome. In addition to 2000 and 2019, other season-openers in Japan took place in 2004 (New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays), 2008 (Boston Red Sox vs. Oakland Athletics) and 2012 (Seattle Mariners vs. Athletics).
For MLB, it’s the second consecutive year in which an international series is featured to begin the season. Last year, the Dodgers traveled to South Korea to face the San Diego Padres in the Seoul Series.
For the Dodgers, it marks their fourth international series, joining the 2014 season-opening series in Sydney, Australia, against the Arizona Diamondbacks, their 2018 matchup against the Padres in Monterrey, Mexico, and the aforementioned Seoul Series in 2024.
In addition, MLB announced that the Dodgers begin their Cactus League schedule with their first Spring Training game of 2025 on Feb. 25 at at 1:05 p.m. (local)/12:05 p.m. (PT) at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, AZ. also against the Cubs.
Domestic Opening Day on March 27 features the Dodgers hosting the Detroit Tigers with first pitch scheduled for 4:10 p.m. PT.
That game will be part of ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” broadcast with pregame coverage beginning one hour early for the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series banner raising and ring ceremony.
Dodgers exhibition game times in Japan
Prior to the Opening Series against the Cubs, the Dodgers will play two exhibition games against the Yomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers on March 15 and March 16, respectively.
The Dodgers and Giants are scheduled to play at 7:00 p.m. local time/3:00 a.m. PT on Saturday while the Tigers and Dodgers play at 12:00 p.m. local time on Sunday (7:00 p.m. PT on Saturday in Los Angeles).
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