7:10 PM on Tuesday in LA will be 11:10 AM in Tokyo Japan, but much like they always are eyes of baseball fans in Japan will be on Dodger Stadium.

The Cubs are in town to take on the Dodgers in the second of a three-game series, something that American baseball fans wouldn’t think much of.

For the avid baseball fans in Japan, this Tuesday night game means just a little bit more… A lot more.

Unofficially labeled as “Japan’s team”, the Dodgers have been wowing Japanese fans all season long with Shohei Ohtani and rookie sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

However, Los Angeles isn’t the only team stacked with Japanese talent. The Chicago Cubs feature outfielder Seiya Suzuki and breakout sensation Shota Imanaga.

On Tuesday night the four will meet in a showcase of the elite talent that Japan has produced over the last few years.

“Certainly in Japan, people are going to be tuned in and excited,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “It should be a good crowd again and we expect a good performance.”

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is set to make his first start in a little under three months after straining his right rotator cuff.

“Obviously I’m not going to pitch 100 (pitches), but even if the last was a very short outing, I am ready,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter.

The return of Yamamoto is far from the only Japanese storyline for the Dodgers, as Shohei Ohtani will continue to chase history of his own.

Ohtani enters play on Tuesday with 46 home runs and 47 stolen bases as he will likely become the first player in baseball history to have a 50/50 season.

From the Cubs’ side of things, Shota Imanaga has burst onto the baseball scene in 2024 with a 12-3 record with an ERA of just 2.99.

In his last start, Imanaga threw the first seven innings of the Cubs’ first no-hitter at Wrigley Field since 1972.

Japan will be tuned in from afar watching their NL stars but soon, it won’t be from so far that they will have a chance to see their own.

The showdown at Dodger Stadium will preview what is expected to be an electric 2025 Opening Day on March 18-19 when the two teams face off in Tokyo.