The Chicago Cubs officially opened up the major league season on Tuesday morning against the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of the two-game Toyko Series.
The series is a big success for baseball, pitting two of the most iconic brands in the sport against each other in one of the biggest media markets in the world.
It is also a big day for Cubs rookie Matt Shaw, who made his major league debut in historic team fashion.
Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com on social
Shaw is ranked as the No. 19 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline. He grounded out to second base in his first at-bat before striking out against Yoshinobu Yamamoto in his second.
A first-round pick in the 2023 draft out of Maryland, Shaw is a .303 career hitter in the minor leagues. He had just 35 games of Triple-A experience under his belt, but he did hit .298 in those 35 games last year with seven home runs. The promotion is certainly aggressive, but third base was open after the Cubs traded Isaac Paredes away in the deal that brought Kyle Tucker over from the Astros.
At the time of this posting, the Cubs trail the Dodgers 3-1 in the fifth inning.
Chicago finished tied for second in the National League Central in 2024, missing the playoffs. The Brewers won the division by a whopping 10 games.
