Shohei Ohtani Felt ‘Nervous’ Playing In Tokyo Series Opener

The Los Angeles Dodgers opened the regular season with a 4-1 win over the Chicago Cubs at the Tokyo Dome, which marked a homecoming for Shohei Ohtani.

The two-way star, back in his native Japan, played a key role in helping the team win their first game of the season. He recorded his first hit in the fifth inning — a 107.4 mph line drive to right field — that set the table for a rally.

Ohtani then led off the ninth with a double and came around to score an important insurance run for the Dodgers. He finished with the two hits in five at-bats and two runs scored.

“It’s been a while that I felt nervous playing a game,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “In that sense I felt like the first couple of at-bats I needed time to adjust. I’m glad I was able to make the adjustments in the later part of the game.”

Ohtani has played many games at the Tokyo Dome in his professional career, but Tuesday represented the first time he was in the visiting clubhouse.

“The biggest challenge coming into this situation was knowing that I’ve never played a game being on visiting clubhouse side,” he began. “I’ve been in the home clubhouse before, but in the visiting clubhouse I don’t have the access to things that I like. Despite that, I’m glad I was able to put up some results.”

After a great start to his season, Ohtani will look for another solid showing on Wednesday when the Dodgers and Cubs meet in the Tokyo Series finale.

Dave Roberts: Shohei Ohtani wa ’emotional’

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did not get the sense that Ohtani was feeling uneasy in the Tokyo Series opener until moments before first pitch.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Shohei nervous,” Roberts said. “One thing I did notice is how emotional he got during the Japanese national anthem. That was something that was very telling, how emotional he was.”