TOKYO — Murmurs rippled through the packed Tokyo Dome when the velocity flashed onto the scoreboard.
Los Angeles Dodgers phenom Roki Sasaki hit 101 mph on his first pitch in the first inning Wednesday to Chicago Cubs designated hitter Seiya Suzuki in a matchup between the Japanese stars. Every time Sasaki hit triple digits in his major-league debut — five times in his three-inning start — the 42,367 fans comprised largely of Dodgers supporters reacted with a sense of awe.
Cubs fans again didn’t have much to cheer for in a 6-3 loss, getting swept in the Tokyo Series. The Dodgers took a two-run lead in the second and were in command the rest of the game. When the Cubs scored, putting up a run in the third through fifth innings, the Dodgers had a knack for responding.
“Obviously he was a little amped up at home, throwing pretty hard,” said Cubs second baseman Jon Berti, who went 3-for-4. “We just stayed patient with it, and unfortunately, we just couldn’t get the big hit at the big time.”
Shohei Ohtani’s solo home run to right-center field generated the loudest pop in the stadium during the series. A replay review, which showed potential fan interference, determined the call stood.
Left-hander Justin Steele surrendered five hits and five runs in four innings. Home runs from Tommy Edman (a two-out solo homer in the third) and Enrique Hernández (two-run homer in the fourth) proved to be costly.
“My body felt good, felt good overall, made a few mistakes, got punished for it,” Steele said. “The home runs kind of hurt me tonight, but overall, felt pretty good. Felt really cool to pitch here in Tokyo and it’s something I’ll never forget.”
The Cubs had a chance for a big inning against Sasaki in the third when the right-hander lost command.
Sasaki walked three consecutive hitters following Berti’s one-out single. Although they cut the Dodgers’ lead to 3-1, Sasaki struck out Michael Busch looking and got Matt Shaw to whiff at a slider near the dirt to end the Cubs’ threat. The Cubs went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base in the loss.
“We did put pressure on him that we needed to, but he made pitches, especially in the third inning when they we had bases loaded and one out, there was a real opportunity there just to get him out of the game, the next hit might get him out of the game,” manager Craig Counsell said. “And he made pitches there so give him credit.
“The stuff is really good, but I thought we did a good job executing our game plan.”
The big moments kept finding Shaw, who was 1-for-5 with two strikeouts and stranded three on base with two outs. He collected his first big-league hit on an infield single off the pitcher’s mitt.
“I don’t think he swung the bat well this series,” Counsell said. “I thought it was an important day defensively to come back and make some plays. Look, it’s two games, it is what it is. I think the defense is an important thing for him to show us and improve on. And today was a good step in that direction.”
The Cubs left for Arizona after the game to complete the rest of their spring training slate, featuring five games leading up to their domestic opener March 27 at the Arizona Diamondbacks.
It creates a bit of a wonky schedule. The Cubs are off Thursday and regulars aren’t expected to play in Friday’s Cactus League game against the San Diego Padres. Pitchers regressing is a concern with just four games scheduled in a week’s span, but there isn’t much the Cubs can do to combat that.
The Cubs will face a gauntlet with their April schedule, which features seven games against the Diamondbacks, six versus the San Diego Padres, five against the Dodgers and three versus the Athletics, Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies. The Cubs will need to grind through that stretch and not dig themselves too much of a hole.
Their focus remains on returning to the playoffs. The Tokyo Series provided a glimpse of what that type of environment might entail for the less experienced players on the Cubs roster.
“These are great experiences, period, and they’re fun experiences. They’re different, they are,” Counsell said. “They do resemble the playoffs. The pregame especially resembled the playoffs, I thought. And so that’s a great experience for our young players. And hopefully, we’ll get that experience again in October.”
