But the Japanese players who were playing in front of their home country at the Tokyo Dome on Tuesday handled any jitters they had quite well, delivering in clutch moments as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-1, in Major League Baseball’s season opener.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto had a little extra zip on his fastball. Shohei Ohtani even admitted to some nerves. There was little doubt this was no ordinary baseball game.

If MLB can get Japan to follow all its teams, “We do believe there are payoffs in the B’s: billions,” commissioner Rob Manfred said.