By the end of the night, it amounted to an auspicious start to a season of ambitious expectations, the Dodgers beating the Cubs 4-1 before a pro-Dodgers crowd on the other side of the globe.

For a moment, it felt like all of Japan held its collective breath. The Tokyo Dome, known throughout the globe for its energy and electric atmosphere fell silent as the sheeted dead. Then, as Shohei Ohtani’s bat connected on a curveball,