What Los Angeles Dodgers fans have long assumed is now official. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki will start games 1 and 2 of the Dodgers' season in Tokyo against the Chicago Cubs, USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported on Tuesday.

The Dodgers and Cubs will participate in the Tokyo Series at the aptly named Tokyo Dome on March 18 and 19. For LA, that means that Yamamoto, Sasaki and Shohei Ohtani will all return to their home country to compete in front of the fans they began their careers with.

More specifically for Sasaki, it means his first MLB start will be in his home country, maybe providing a sense of normalcy for the 23-year-old touted as a can't-miss prospect.

So far, at least, he's lived up to the billing in spring training. Sasaki made his second Cactus League appearance on Tuesday, throwing four shutout innings on only 41 pitches. That's despite walking two batters, striking out two and allowing a hit.

“There were a few things that didn’t go the way I wanted today. I sort of reverted to some bad habits,” Sasaki said through an interpreter, per the LA Times. “But to have those come out in a game before opening day so that I can adjust them in time is a good thing.”

After coming out of the game, Sasaki also threw a short bullpen session.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki are looking forward to returning to Japan with the Dodgers

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Yamamoto is one year removed from coming over to the states, while Sasaki will be a rookie in 2025. Both are returning to Japan for the first time in a professional capacity and have spoken about the opportunity.

“Obviously, all the Japanese fans must be really excited to have us back in our native country,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter, per MLB.com. “What we can do for them is get ourselves ready as much as possible and perform the best over there for them.”

Sasaki expressed a similar sentiment, touching on returning home while also living his dream as a Major Leaguer.

“To be able to pitch in Japan is going to be a really special and unique opportunity,” he said. “Obviously being able to pitch in the major leagues is something that I worked for a long time to be able to do. I’m really excited.”

The Dodgers will also play a pair of exhibition games in Tokyo on Saturday the 15th, facing the Yomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers in a doubleheader.