BOX SCORE

After a couple of days of sightseeing and experiencing what Tokyo has to offer, the Chicago Cubs continued their Opening Day preparations with an exhibition game against the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball.

Hanshin’s 20-year-old left-hander, Keito Mombetsu, pitched five perfect innings, and the Tigers’ bullpen stymied the Cubs’ offense the rest of the way in an 3-0 win at the Tokyo Dome.

The process always was going to outweigh the results, though, as the Cubs continue to prep for their first competitive game Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the MLB Tokyo Series.

Here are the three takeaways from the game:

One-of-a-kind atmosphere

For all the hoopla and excitement surrounding the Cubs being in Japan, the atmosphere around the first few pitches was a bit shocking.

It was silent as the Cubs hit.

About the only sounds heard during the top of the first inning was the crack of the bat for three flyouts and a nice ovation for Seiya Suzuki before his first plate appearance.

Boy, did that change a half inning later.

As Koji Chikamoto stepped up to the plate, the Hanshin fans in right field welcomed the Cubs — and American fans, too — to their baseball environment. Chikamoto had his own song, and the fans belted it out throughout his at-bat. When the next hitter, Teruaki Sato, walked up for his at-bat, the fans sung a brand-new tune.

Each player had his own song that the fans chanted. It was an environment reminiscent of a soccer match, where fans chant and sing for their clubs throughout the game.

Running-game woes

Miguel Amaya struggled to control Cubs opponents’ running game most of last season, nabbing just 18.8 percent (18 of 96) of would-be baserunners last season. The Tigers were able to run pretty freely Friday, too, swiping three bags without being caught against the Cubs catcher.

Of course, it’s worth noting this wasn’t a traditional game. Because the Cubs were playing a Nippon Professional Baseball team, some MLB rules weren’t in play. There was no pitch clock and no disengagement rules.

NPB teams’ style of baseball also is different. They rely more on small ball — the Tigers even bunted after a leadoff double in the third inning.

The Cubs will closely monitor Amaya’s ability to control the running game. He had improved in that regard as the season went on, nabbing six baserunners in September for a 35.3 percent caught-stealing rate, and the team added Carson Kelly, who had a 26.3 percent caught-stealing rate (21 of 80) in 84 games with the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers.

Stepping back in time

Baseball in 2025 means data. Lots and lots of it. But against the Tigers, it was a bit like stepping into a time machine.

The Cubs didn’t have much advanced scouting on the pitchers and hitters, so they had to rely on their instincts and conversations with one another more.

“That’s fun as an older person, going back to an era maybe where I played,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said before the game. “We might have to ask the hitter before what he’s got.

“That may be the advanced scouting report. So I think that’s fun.”

The Cubs finished with three hits in the contest — a sixth-inning Amaya single to break up the Tigers’ no-hitter, a seventh-inning Seiya Suzuki single and a ninth-inning Michael Busch knock.