The MLB season officially kicks off in just a month on FOX Sports as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs open the 2025 season with a short two-game series overseas in Tokyo, Japan. Earlier today, the network announced via social media that both games will be broadcast, with game one airing on FOX Sports and FOX Deportes on Tuesday, March 18, followed by game two on FS1 and FOX Deportes on March 19.
Both telecasts will air live from the Tokyo Dome at 6 a.m. Eastern time in the United States. Additionally, fans can watch the games on the teams’ regional sports networks, with Marquee Sports Network covering Chicago and Spectrum SportsNet LA handling the Los Angeles broadcast.
This series also marks a homecoming for several native Japanese players. The Dodgers will showcase Oshu, Shohei Ohtani and Bizen, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, while the Cubs will feature Kitakyushu, Shota Imanaga, Arakawa, and Seiya Suzuki.
MLB’s tradition of opening its season in Japan dates back to 2000, when the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs played the first-ever regular-season games outside of North America. Since then, Tokyo has hosted four more season openers, most recently in 2019 when the Seattle Mariners faced the Oakland Athletics in Ichiro Suzuki’s final two MLB games.
Leading up to the highly anticipated series, both teams will participate in exhibition games against some of Japan’s top baseball franchises. On March 15, the Chicago Cubs will take on the Hanshin Tigers, while the Yomiuri Giants will face the Los Angeles Dodgers. The following day the teams will swamp opponents in preparation for the Dodgers and Cubs to gear up for the official start of the 2025 MLB season.
FOX Sports will announce the full 2025 MLB on FOX broadcast schedule at a later date.
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