The North Side Chicago Cubs’ Japanese lefty Shota Imanaga took the mound Friday afternoon and delivered a dominant performance in a 3-1 win over the previously undefeated San Diego Padres in front of 40,244 fans at Wrigley Field.
The game lasted two hours and thirty-eight minutes.
San Diego dropped to 7-1 in the 2025 season while the Cubs improved to 6-4.
Imanaga, a 31-year-old from Kitakyushu, Japan, pitched 7.1 innings and allowed four hits, one earned run, and struck out four. The lone blemish came on a solo home run by Martin Maldonado in the top of the third that cleared the left field fence.
Imanaga threw 91 pitches, 68 for strikes.
He is now 1-0 to begin the 2025 season with a 0.82 ERA across two starts. In 11 innings, he has allowed three hits, one earned run, six walks, and struck out six batters.
San Diego started 26-year-old right-hander Randy Vásquez from Navarrete, Dominican Republic. He went 4.2 innings, allowed two hits, two earned runs, walked five, and struck out two. Vásquez threw 82 pitches with 44 going for strikes.
He gave up a bases-loaded walk to Nico Hoerner in the bottom of the first that brought home Ian Happ to tie the game at 1-1.
The Cubs took the lead in the fifth when Justin Turner hit a ground ball single. Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts made a diving attempt but threw late to second trying to force out Seiya Suzuki. Suzuki was ruled safe, and Happ came around to score. That run put the Cubs ahead 2-1 and they never looked back.
Imanaga, Porter Hodge, and closer Ryan Pressly combined to allow six hits, one earned run, one walk, and struck out six over nine innings.
Imanaga will be among the top candidates to represent Japan at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Japan is currently ranked No. 1 in the World Baseball Rankings published by the World Baseball Softball Confederation.
In South Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park, the Philadelphia Phillies ended the Los Angeles Dodgers’ undefeated start with a 3-2 win in front of 43,024 fans Friday night in the first game of their three-game home series.
The Dodgers fell to 8-1 while the Phillies improved to 6-1.
Philadelphia will play the second game of their home series against Los Angeles on April 5 at 4:05 p.m. EDT.
Dodgers rookie right-hander Roki Sasaki from Japan is scheduled to face Phillies veteran Aaron Nola on Saturday afternoon.
Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto took the loss Friday night. He pitched six innings, allowed three hits, no earned runs, walked three, and struck out five.
Yamamoto threw 97 pitches with 58 going for strikes.
The 26-year-old from Bizen, Okayama, Japan, is now 1-1 with a 0.5 WAR and a 1.69 ERA to open the 2025 season. He has thrown 16 innings in three starts, allowing 11 hits, three earned runs, two home runs, six walks, and has struck out 19 batters. His WHIP stands at 1.063.
Yamamoto committed a throwing error trying to pick off Trea Turner between second and third base, leading to Turner scoring the Phillies’ first run of the night.
Like Imanaga, Yamamoto is expected to be a strong candidate for Samurai Japan’s rotation at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Officials will evaluate the rest of the rotation during the 2025 Nippon Professional Baseball season, with Kodai Senga, Yusei Kikuchi, Yu Darvish, Shohei Ohtani, and Roki Sasaki also in the mix from MLB.
Phillies left-hander Jesús Luzardo improved to 2-0 with seven shutout innings. He allowed two hits, walked two, and struck out eight.
Luzardo threw 95 pitches, 59 for strikes, and helped snap the Dodgers’ perfect start to the year.
Philadelphia’s bullpen of Matt Strahm, José Ruiz, and Jordan Romano closed it out, combining to allow five hits, two earned runs, four walks, and 11 strikeouts over nine innings.
Luzardo holds a 1.50 ERA in two starts this season with a 0.7 WAR. He has thrown 12 innings, allowed seven hits, two earned runs, one home run, and four walks, and leads Major League Baseball with 19 strikeouts.
Luzardo is expected to be a frontline starter for Venezuela in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. He could join Germán Márquez, Pablo López, Martín Pérez, and Ranger Suárez as top options for the national team.
Venezuela is ranked No. 3 in the WBSC.
Luzardo was born in Lima, Peru, and is eligible to play for Venezuela because both of his parents are from the country. He went 1-0 in his lone 2023 WBC start, throwing four shutout innings in Pool D at loanDepot Park in Miami. He allowed four hits, one walk, and struck out five.
Venezuela will aim for a complete roster at the 2026 WBC in Pool D after being eliminated 9-7 by the United States in the 2023 quarterfinals.
2026 World Baseball Classic Information
The 2026 World Baseball Classic will begin with pool play across four locations. Colombia, Chinese Taipei, Brazil and Nicaragua have already qualified for the 2026 event and have not yet been assigned to a pool.
The United States, Italy, Mexico, Great Britain and a Qualifier nation will compete at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas from March 6-11 in Pool B
Puerto Rico, Cuba, Canada, Panama, and a Qualifier nation will compete in San Juan, Puerto Rico at Hiram Bithorn Stadium from March 6-11 in Pool A
Japan, Australia, South Korea, Czech Republic, and a Qualifier nation will compete at the Tokyo Dome from March 5-10 in Pool C
Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Israel, and a Qualifier nation will compete at loanDepot Park in Miami in Pool D from March 6-11
The Quarterfinals of the 2026 WBC will feature the Pool A runner-up facing the Pool B winner on March 13, while the Pool B runner-up will face the Pool A winner on March 14 at Daikin Park
The other side of the Quarterfinals will be on March 13 with the Pool C runner-up playing the Pool D winner and the Pool D runner-up will play the Pool C winner on March 14 at loanDepot Park
The 2026 WBC semifinals will be held on March 15 and 16 at loanDepot Park, with the championship game taking place on March 17
Notebook
Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez from the Dominican Republic hit his second career three-homer game Friday night in their 8-6 road win over the Los Angeles Angels.
His last three-homer performance came on June 8, 2023, against the Boston Red Sox.
Ramírez is expected to be evaluated throughout the 2025 season for potential selection to the Dominican Republic’s 2026 WBC roster under manager Albert Pujols and general manager Nelson Cruz.
The Dominican national team, led by Federación Dominicana de Béisbol president Juan Núñez, will be looking to build a stacked offense for the tournament with candidates including Ketel Marte, Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto, Mark Vientos, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Jasson Domínguez, Rafael Devers, Jeremy Peña, Manny Machado, Willy Adames, Julio Rodríguez, Yanier Díaz, Austin Wells, Gary Sánchez, and Ramírez.
The Guardians will play the second game of their three-game series against the Angels on April 5 at 9:38 p.m. EDT.
Atlanta Jumping To Their First Win For 2025 With Their Home Opener 10-0 Win Over Miami
The Atlanta Braves picked up their first win of the season and moved to 1-7 while the Marlins fell to 4-4.
Braves right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach went eight innings, allowed two hits, and struck out 10 in a dominant outing.
Schwellenbach is now 1-0 to begin the 2025 campaign.
Aaron Bummer pitched the ninth inning for Atlanta, giving up two hits and striking out two to help secure the win.
Marcell Ozuna sparked the offense with a two-run double in the bottom of the third that scored Michael Harris Jr. and Ozzie Albies. Austin Riley followed with an RBI single to score Ozuna and make it 3-0.
Ozuna later added a solo home run to left-center in the seventh that traveled 395 feet. Matt Olson followed with a 434-foot homer to right-center with a 113.4 mph exit velocity and a 24-degree launch angle.
Marlins starter Max Meyer threw six innings, allowed eight hits, three earned runs, walked two, and struck out eight. He is now 0-1 on the year.
Atlanta and Miami will continue their series Saturday, April 5, at 7:15 p.m. EDT.
