Tuesday marked the biggest baseball game in the world as all of Japan was locked into Cubs-Dodgers in Los Angeles.

That’s because Japanese stars Shota Imanaga and Yoshinobu Yamamoto faced off on the mound while fellow countrymen Seiya Suzuki and Shohei Ohtani served as the DH for their respective team.

Long before Pete Crow-Armstrong walked the game off with an epic home run robbery in center field, the Japanese stars had a couple of interesting interactions.

Ohtani has been leading off for the Dodgers and before Imanaga threw his first pitch on the night, the Cubs southpaw made sure to pay his respects to his former World Baseball Classic teammate:

Imanaga got Ohtani to pop out to shortstop on the 1st pitch.

[‘He’s been awesome’: The Cubs could not have dreamed up a better start to Shota Imanaga’s MLB career]

Meanwhile, Yamamoto struck out the side in the top of the 1st, including catching Suzuki looking to end the frame.

Yamamoto only tossed 4 innings as he was making his first MLB start in 3 months due to a shoulder injury. The Cubs scratched across a run off of him on an infield single by Crow-Armstrong in the 2nd inning.

[Crow-Armstrong reacts to game-saving HR robbery]

Ohtani also grounded into a double play in the bottom of the 3rd and then flew out all the way to the right field wall in the 5th off Imanaga.

[Breaking down what makes Shohei Ohtani such a dynamic hitter]

While he was able to keep the likely NL MVP at bay, Imanaga had a tough time keeping the ball in the park. He gave up 3 solo homers – 2 to Tommy Edman and 1 to Max Muncy – on the evening.

Still, he managed to limit the damage there and ended up throwing 7 strong innings to pick up his 13th win of the season when the Cubs rallied late.

Imanaga, Yamamoto and Ohtani also had a chance to chat on the field before Monday’s series opener. Much of that conversation was centered on the adjustment to baseball in America, including the difference in travel and weather.

Japan is all in one time zone, so Japanese players typically take time adjusting to four different time zones in the U.S. Many of the parks in Japan are also indoors, so the variation in weather and temperature in different parts of the U.S. also takes some time to get used to.

Catch the entire interaction with Imanaga, Ohtani and Yamamoto on the Marquee Sports Network app.