Dodgers, Cubs open 2025 in Tokyo, 9 days before rest of MLB

NEW YORK -- The Los Angeles Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani will open the 2025 season in Tokyo against the Chicago Cubs on March 18, and the Athletics will start the home portion of their first season in Sacramento against the Cubs on March 31.

All 30 teams are scheduled to play March 27, marking the earliest Opening Day other than international games, Major League Baseball announced Thursday. There were games on March 28 in 2019 and this season.

Each team will play six games against its prime interleague rival instead of four, increasing matchups between the New York Yankees and Mets, Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels, Cubs and Chicago White Sox, and Athletics and San Francisco Giants. What is being called a Rivalry Weekend is scheduled for May 16-18 and includes the prime interleague rivalries along with Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia, Colorado vs. Arizona, Detroit vs. Toronto and Houston vs. Texas.

In the third straight season of a return to a balanced schedule, a team will play 13 games against each division rival (52 games) and six or seven against each other club in its league for a total of 62. The remaining 48 games are against interleague opponents, with a single three-game series against each of the 14 other clubs in the opposite league.

The American League used a balanced schedule from 1977 to 2000 and the National League from 1993 to 2000.

The Dodgers and Cubs will play at the Tokyo Dome on March 18-19, marking the 25th anniversary of the Mets and Cubs playing MLB's first regular-season games in Japan. Other Tokyo openers were the Yankees and Rays (2004), Red Sox and Athletics (2008) and Mariners and Athletics (2012, '19). The Dodgers and San Diego Padres started the 2024 season in Seoul, South Korea.

MLB and the players' association intended to play regular-season games in Paris next June but abandoned the plan because they couldn't find a sponsor. The collective bargaining agreement also called for September 2025 games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but none were included.

After playing in Oakland at the Coliseum since 1968, the Athletics intend to spend the 2025 to 2027 seasons at Sutter Health Park, home of the Giants' Triple-A River Cats and a ballpark with a capacity of about 10,500 fixed seats. The A's open with a four-game series at the Mariners before hosting the Cubs. They play the Giants at San Francisco's Oracle Park from May 16-18 and host the Giants from July 4-6.

The daytime high temperatures in Sacramento often exceed 100 degrees in the summer, and artificial turf is being installed to accommodate both the Athletics and River Cats.

The Athletics franchise started in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954 and moved to Kansas City for 13 seasons. The team has announced plans to move to a new ballpark in Las Vegas starting in 2028.

Other March 27 games include the Cubs at Diamondbacks, Angels at White Sox, Giants at Reds, Mets at Astros, Guardians at Royals, Tigers at Dodgers, Pirates at Marlins, Brewers at Yankees, Twins at Cardinals, Braves at Padres, Rockies at Rays, Red Sox at Rangers, Orioles at Blue Jays and Phillies at Nationals. Game times were not announced.

The All-Star Game will be at Atlanta's Truist Park on July 15, and the regular season ends Sept. 28.